Allotments 4 All

Hello all,
I've been away from my allotment for the past 3 weeks plus for various reasons, which is not what i wanted but unfortunately  it couldn't be helped.

Some one has advised now it is to late to do much and the best thing to do would be to put black bags down (if I cant find carpet) and go bk next year when all weeds have died..

the questions that concern me with this is ...
1) how long would it be advised to keep the bags down?
2) is it really safe ?
3) if i cut all brambles down before hand will the bags actually stop these from growing back? (one  person has advised i dig out another has said to just cut) (so I'm taking it this question away from mutual ground)

sorry if these sound stupid to some but I'm still learning basic :-)

Thank you in advance for any advice /help given :-)

There is a knotty bit below the surface of brambles I think that if you cut them off above it, the stem will just grow again.   I would not just cut them off at ground level but try to dig each one out rather deeper.  But not convinced either that the brambles have only grown in three weeks, however the end of almost every branch goes down to the soil and roots at this time of year and the sooner they are pulled out and chopped off the better.

I find brambles to be very persistant brutes.

I would suggest that if you have no time that cutting would be better than nothing but you will need to pounce on them in the spring..

Hi jessico, I
   I read an article in a magazine that suggested putting carpet on your veggie patch was not a good idea, apparently, all the rubber backing and adhesives etc. break down and leach into the soil, perhaps just a plastic sheet that can be removed after use would be better, I got a lot of large sheets from a local timber merchant, they use them to keep the rain off the imported timber, then fill skips up with them
      Ted

Thank you Digeroo,
I'm going to pop over to lotty after dropping the children at school ...( hopefully weather will hold out for a little while) where I can see what I can do...  their about 4  large hedges of brambles .. 2 off which I had cut most bk (but was only to ground level     ( one lesson I have learned not to do again) the others well are just stll their :-)
Thank you for the advice x

Thank you Ted
I Will have a look around and see what I can find x

Some sites do not allow carpet - its a b****r to get rid of.  If funds allow cover with that black weed membrane.  The woven stuff is great I believe but rather pricey but you can get the non woven stuff quite cheaply from places like Wilko, Poundland, Home Bargains etc but I am not sure about if at this time of year.  If worst comes to worst cover with cardboard and weight it down, like I do.

No need to cover it, weeds dont grow at this time of year and you'll be providing a nice cosy home for slugs etc...not to mention its not an attractive look (in my opinion) also,if you cover it,you are not going to bother removing the existing weeds, good luck! Im battling brambles at work at the min, right little swines they are to remove!

Hi Jessico
You start off by saying that you've been told it is too late to do anything. That isn't strictly true. It depends on the weather. I am still going to be working on my plot here in Scotland until it is either too wet or the ground is frozen. Dig out perennial weeds (the ones like dock and dandelion), and dispose of them at recycling. Annual weeds won't grow much over the winter but, if the weather is OK hoe them up and add to your compost. They have a nasty habit of sneakily getting going in the spring before you notice!!

Do you want to have 4 bramble hedges or do you want to get rid of them? If you don't want them you'll need to dig them up - maybe more than once! If you don't have the time to do that cut them back until you do. Cutting them back won't stop them growing but it'll keep them under control until you have time to deal with them properly.

Please don't use carpets - they're full of chemicals - probably not what you want to be feeding your children next year!!

If you must cover up the ground - and to be honest I wouldn't recommend it - use black plastic well weighed down to stop it blowing away.

You don't say how old your children are and whether you have any help on your plot, nor how long you've had it.If you're not too sure how to run your allotment the winter months are a good time to find out what to do and how to do it.
To get you started here's a link to a monthly guide I put on our website http://www.whaa.org.uk/PDFs/guide02.pdf.
Keep in touch and let us know how you get on!

Hi ! Jessico !    With all the rain we are having  , those bramble roots should just slide out of the earth !  Dandelions and Docks with their long tap roots  too .
And there is lots of fun things to do ...like planting onion sets and garlic cloves . Sow your Autumn sowing peas , cover with some fleece . You can still buy some cabbage and purple sprouting broccoli seedlings from your local garden centre......put up a pretty wigwam and sow some sweetpeas . Plant a few daffodils and crocus bulbs to give yourself something to look forward to . Have fun with it !   
....and theres lots of friendly growing advice on here too !   

Hello Thank you all very much for your reply...

I'm now having second mind on not covering

grawrc
I was not intending on keeping all 4 only one
my children are 6 / 14 13 and 16
The 16 year old has no interest at all
the 13 year old is only interested in the the building side of things
my 14 year is doing Btec horticulture (not sure if spelt that right) he has left sided hemiplegia (cerebral palsy)so getting out in the cold can be hard for him however when is not too cold he does spend a lot of  time with me
my 6 year old loves the allotment even if its just looking for bugs  :-)

I did try the link, however it was not working when I clicked on it ..sorry....

I've have the plot since end off June this year x

Quote from: jessico on November 06, 2012, 09:17:55
Hello Thank you all very much for your reply...

I'm now having second mind on not covering

grawrc
I was not intending on keeping all 4 only one
my children are 6 / 14 13 and 16
The 16 year old has no interest at all
the 13 year old is only interested in the the building side of things
my 14 year is doing Btec horticulture (not sure if spelt that right) he has left sided hemiplegia (cerebral palsy)so getting out in the cold can be hard for him however when is not too cold he does spend a lot of  time with me
my 6 year old loves the allotment even if its just looking for bugs  :-)

I did try the link, however it was not working when I clicked on it ..sorry....

I've have the plot since end off June this year x

Sorry i meant July

Covering weeds only kills them reliably if you do so for a full growing season. Covering now might knock back the grasses, but the perennials will bounce back up in spring.
I agree with Woodypecks, and would cultivate a small area, then plant some overwinter crops. It will give you a reason to visit the plot over the winter, which means you will be monitoring/controlling the weed situation in the rest of the plot, as well as rigorously exterminating any weeds as soon as they show amongst the crop.
Brambles just need to be dug out. It's as simple as that.
If the plot is covered with turfy vegetation, it can be worth doing a 'rough dig' at this time of year; single dig, making sure all live weeds are turned over in the bottom of the trench. It will also let you assess the plot in terms of different soils, wet areas etc. You will need to choose a time when the soil is suitable to dig; if it is too wet you can damage the structure.
In spring, it should then be relatively easy to fork out surviving perennials as you prepare the beds.
Oh, and don't trample areas you plan to cultivate - that just makes digging even harder. Kids need to be trained on that one!

Use decent quality black plastic, not Poundland rubbish, and it'll least indefinitely. Brambles are a menace; I dig mine out as deep as I can, and they still keep coming back. It's a good, reliable bee plant though, so it's not all negative!