Allotments 4 All

hi! recently taken over a small 125sq ft allotment in sunny Maidenhead. Needs a complete dig over (or rotavating if i can hire one/bribe someone) and supports for climbing plants and whatnot.
Ive managed to put up a greenhouse and shed and got a few carrot and cabbage seeds started.

Never had one before so its all a learning curve 

thought id say hello 

Hi Mic, welcome to the forum 
Congratulations on your new allotment 
You're in for a busy season 

Hi mic - welcome to the forum... you will enjoy the plot I'm sure... Dont rotavate - dig then let the clods sit for a few weeks then add your fertilizer, fork them down and plant. 125 sq foot is small enough to dig and remove all the weeds and roots properly in a few hours.. dig in manure if you can get hold of some as well.

Took me nearly 2 hours to dig next to nothing and that's without clearing any weeds! There's no rush I suppose, I'm happy to do a section at a time if it comes to it as I have to do it around work and family. I thought a rotavator would have it done in a day so could crack on with a full plot with minimum hassle and prepare for planting

We too have recently taken over a new plot, also very badly overgrown.  It's not what I'd normally do, but to kickstart the process, you can strim, then weedkill with glyphosate (which will take a couple of weeks to die back), then rotavate.  Inevitably you'll be digging in some perennial weed roots that have survived the weedkiller, but at least you'll have a productive plot for this season.

You only have to dig 12 sq. mt.    Taking 1 sq. mt. as approx 4 spades wide x 4 lines.. so 16 spades or forks of earth needs to be moved.. If each spadeful at a very slow pace takes 2 minutes to dig over and weed out the roots etc..  at this very slow pace it will only take 32 minutes per sq. mt. So really only 6 hours max to dig it all over. In my first year on my very overgrown plot (see it here www.gavinconway.net) I double dug it all. I was doing a 1mt strip x 5 mt wide in about 2 1/2 hours.. That was really full of weeds and mares tail. I dug at least 18" deep with a digging fork, turning all the clods, bashing with the fork to find all the roots.

So I'd say dig a line at a time and you will find it soon gets done. Can you post a pic so we can see what you are dealing with so and why you cant get much done in a couple of hours.

Oh and less the space where the GH and shed are you could do it in a couple of hours.. BTW how do you fit a GH and shed and have spare space to grow veg..

Hi Mic, I agree with gavin, if you do not dig the weeds out first the rotavator will just chop them up and multiply them. Rotavators are used to break up the soil. Unfortunately they also kill all the earthworms which will help you! I found a trail of dead earthworms one day on our site, and realised that it was followed the path of a member taking his rotavator home.
Enjoy your plot!

Yes, contrary to popular belief, rotavators (other than the really large powerful ones) are intended for preparing seed beds by creating a fine tilth to a depth of usually only about 4". Rotavating uncultivated ground does indeed multiply the perennial weeds by creating and planting root cuttings, and kills off lots of beneficial soil life. It also causes loss of humus through over-aereation. Add to that oil drips and petroleum particulates being deposited on the soil...    ...you can probably see that I'm not a fan.
If you are not cut out to dig, then investigate no-dig techniques, which can work very well to clear and maintain cropping areas.

Thanks for the advice.

Turns out a couple of people at work have a rotavator at hand to borrow, don't know if I should take them up on it or just resort to digging. They use em on their allotment anyway.

Did think about rotavating then immediately spraying roundup after pulling up larger obvious weeds left. Then rotavate again a few weeks later before planting?! I know it might chop weeds up and spread but surely roundup would work better on lots of small weeds then trying to work thru larger ones?

Mic,

Just spray and leave a while, then spray again. Let everything absorb the spray and die down by then your seedlings should be nearly ready for planting out after you have dug over the plot and hoed the soil finely.

Have a good season.

Digmore. 

Yes, I agree with Digmore. Spraying after rotavating would almost certainly result in many viable weed cuttings not coming into contact with the herbicide because they were buried, or because they do not include any foliage. Be very careful to avoid spray drift onto next door plots, or you won't be popular :-)
If you only have a few large weeds, consider just spot treating them, or painting them individually with a small brush. It might take a bit longer, but it's far safer that way.

Mic - how much space do you have after the GH and shed to grow in?

Quote from: gavinjconway on March 19, 2014, 20:29:38
Mic - how much space do you have after the GH and shed to grow in?

Most of it! Shed is a small basic one which has gone at the top next to the pallet compost heap left by the previous person. Same width. I understand he also had his shed there.

Greenhouse in far corner where it gets most sun, it's 6x4.  So apart from that an a metre? In width along the top, I'd round it up to 100 useable sqft for argument sake.

Ok Mic - so that is 10' x 10' - a bit smaller than my lounge.. there is no way you cant dig that in a few hours, breaking the clods and removing weeds at the same time.. dont go on about rotavating - it does more damage to the ground and weeds than good.

Sorry but just get stuck in and dig it and if I sound a bit OTT about digging its because it's the best way. Today I dug a strip 2mt wide x 5mt long in 1 1/2 hours.. ok admittedly its been dug before but still got roots to remove.. So double that for overgrown ground..

Once you have dug it over let it dry and a bit then rotavate to smooth it off before you plant yes.. but not use it as a digger.

You could cover most of it with heavy cardboard or a well weighted down cheap tarpaulin, and fold it back row by row as you dig. I am a very slow digger, and that is what I do with bits of my plots that have got out of control. It is much easier to dig out weeds that have already been stifled to some extent.

My immediate neighbour, who I have not met yet, rotavated the whole of his big plot in the autumn. All the couch grass and docks are now springing up to the extent that soon we won't be able to see where he rotavated.

Another neighbour, who has since given up, doggedly rotavated his plot over and over again one year, got some good crops, disappeared, and his plot is waist high in the original weeds. A new couple have just taken it on, and they too are talking about rotavating.

On the other hand, another neighbour had her plot rotavated and immediately set about raking out the weed roots, day after day, meticulously forking over smallish beds and keeping them clean, so it can work. In her case, all the heavy turf was broken up by the machine so it was easier for her to clean out without the heavy digging that she was not built for.

Quote from: artichoke on March 21, 2014, 10:58:43
You could cover most of it with heavy cardboard or a well weighted down cheap tarpaulin, and fold it back row by row as you dig. I am a very slow digger, and that is what I do with bits of my plots that have got out of control. It is much easier to dig out weeds that have already been stifled to some extent.

My immediate neighbour, who I have not met yet, rotavated the whole of his big plot in the autumn. All the couch grass and docks are now springing up to the extent that soon we won't be able to see where he rotavated.

Another neighbour, who has since given up, doggedly rotavated his plot over and over again one year, got some good crops, disappeared, and his plot is waist high in the original weeds. A new couple have just taken it on, and they too are talking about rotavating.

On the other hand, another neighbour had her plot rotavated and immediately set about raking out the weed roots, day after day, meticulously forking over smallish beds and keeping them clean, so it can work. In her case, all the heavy turf was broken up by the machine so it was easier for her to clean out without the heavy digging that she was not built for.

I'm glad you mentioned all these examples..there is good ways and bad ways with rotavating and if one had truly well weed infested plot..and if the soil is compacted too..no amount spade work will get rid of it all without breaking a back. Rotavating ..with right kind of machine..can do the 'digging' and turning the soil over for you, but you are still left with the perennial weeds that won't go away even with repeated rotavations. But it is d**n easier to tackle the weeds as and when they emerge when the soil is already loose...and you 'just' fork the soil over and over and over and over again...as and when needed..

Even I do have rotavators...one for 'properly' turning the soil over and other one for lighter duties..they tend to stand in shed as I do prefer getting spade and fork in action....and the soil is better for it.  I tend to give rotavator more work every few years and particularly after brassicas when the soil tends be more compacted again.

One shortfall of rotovating is that it does not go deep enough to loosen the lower parts of the root system of perennials, e.g. tap roots of dandelions. So as well as making and planting cuttings (which as goodlife says, can be forked out over time) the deep roots keep bouncing back.

With really dense weedy matted turf, a good method is to 'rough dig' in autumn; cut the turf into spade-able blocks, and invert these so that no greenery is visible. Don't worry about trying to break it up - just get it all buried. Over winter, the grasses and annuals will rot away, leaving it much easier to clean with a fork in spring. The perennial roots end up no more extensive that the dimensions of the spaded blocks, so can be separated from the soil without too much trouble, and by using a fork, they don't get cut up any more.

But of course it's important to dig when the soil is right for digging, otherwise it's a huge effort, and possibly damaging to soil structure.

Hi mic.. 

I thought about borrowing a rotavator but decided that after all the rain over the winter, the ground is soft enough to dig easily.. Plus its that's sense of satisfaction when you stand back and see it weed free and think 'I did that..'