help i've just aquired an allotment

[firstimer1]

hi all, just aquired an allotment, when asked if i wanted half or whole plot i asked how big are they? when told i asked if i could have quarter haha. it is so overgrown and is about 125 feet x 11.5 so any help and advice would muchly appreciated many thanks in advanced belle

[MaureenHall]

Hello and welcome Belle. Congratulations on getting your allotment. I bet when you've got it cleared you'll wonder why you didn't have more! Best thing to do I think is to strim off all the top-growth, then cover the whole lot with weed-suppressant membrane / old carpets / tarpaulin - anything to stop the light getting in. Then take it a bit at a time, dig, weed, then cover that bit if you're not planting in it straight away. Continue uncovering, digging, weeding a bit at a time till it's all done.
You could of course rotavate it, but I'm not a fan of these, all the weed roots get chopped up into small pieces and send up a whole new load of weeds.
No doubt some other grapes will be along soon to give you some better advice.
Good luck

[bubblewrap]

Hello firstimer1 & welcome to the vine.
Clearing an overgrown allotment?
First I would strim all the weeds/brambles down to ground level & then dig.
I would advise against rotorvating,as this only chops the roots up.
Cooch grass can grow from a piece of root only 1" long.
I would also advise against using weed killer as most weed killers don't kill all the roots & some weed killers remain active for some time & can effect a neighbours allotment if not used with care.
I think digging is the best option as this way you get rid of the roots & any other rubbish that may me there.
one idea would be to clear part of your plot & then plant some winter veg spring cabbage or winter(Japanese)onions are easy to grow.
Hope this is of use other members may have other ideas

[vicky]

Well done (and welcome!) on getting the allotment!
Think I would reiterate what's been said about taking on all the plot but just tackling it bit by bit.
Personally I would strim/trim then use weedkiller and cover with a membrane /carpet/black bag thing till you have time to deal with it. If you do make sure you plant things too otherwise it could be disheartening!
Good luck

[Jameslovell]

Congrats on getting an allotment.
It is going to be so much fun. hard work, but well worth it.
I got mine this year and so far am only using about 20%.

I can agree with what everyone else has written above. Cover what you aren't going to use straight away. I didn't do this and now it is really hard work to get it back to where it was when I got the allotment.

Get something which overwinters in so you feel like you are really getting started and not working for a few weeks before you sow your first seed.

Other than that, have fun and good luck.

[bubblewrap]

Well done (and welcome!) on getting the allotment!
Think I would reiterate what's been said about taking on all the plot but just tackling it bit by bit.
Personally I would strim/trim then use weedkiller and cover with a membrane /carpet/black bag thing till you have time to deal with it. If you do make sure you plant things too otherwise it could be disheartening!
Good luck

A lot of weed killers wont touch cooch grass roots the only way to rid yourself of cooch grass is to dig the roots out covering with a membrane wont work either cooch grass roots can spread a long way underground before coming up as grass.

[firstimer1]

yeh ive trimmed 60% and dug a plot of 16 foot just dont see much light at the end of tunnel

[firstimer1]

ive dug about 6" down then dug again to get out as much roots as i can then covered in membrane hopefully to keep gud till springish

[firstimer1]

the hundred feet + is just so daunting

[vicky]

Weedkiller such as glycopsate (check spelling!!) is supposed to tackle most weeds but you made need 2 or more doses. It is supposed to degrade when it reaches soil - ie it won't work unless it goes on the leaves. Which is why it may not work on some weeds (ie those with a small surface area such as grasses). This does also mean it won't be in your potatoes etc when you harvest them!
Personally I too have found it still can't eradicate some weeds and you will need to dig.
Just get an area cleared, plant a bit then tackle what you can!

[marigold007]

Hello, first timer. I've just got a very overgrown allotment. At present, I am just leaving it as is and whacking a bit down about a week or so before giving the fork a go to get all the weeds out by double digging and adding manure if I am planting cabbages there. I have less than 10% done I bet. I am finding that less weed seeds germinate afterwards if I have a little bonfire in between whacking it down with the scythe and using the fork to loosen up the soil. That's great but I worry about the soil insects and worms I might be destroying as well.

Can anyone recommend a good hoe?

Good luck, firstimer1.

[bubblewrap]

the hundred feet + is just so daunting

My allotment is 300+ square yards & was quite badly overgrown when I took it on nearly 3 years ago.
It took the best part of a year to get right.(without weed killer)
Just clear a bit at a time it don't have to be done all at once.
As I mentioned in my earlier post clear a bit & get some winter veg planted it is quite encouraging to see stuff growing.
A final word of advice don't try & do too much all at once, it's your allotment winter is a good time for the"weeding"
Good luck & enjoy it.
Andy aka Bubblewrap

[Lazgaot]

I tackled my newly acquired overgrown allotment in the following stages.

1) Spray with roundup to kill all weeds and grass. Nettles, docks and dandelions don't seem affected!
2) Repeated again 2-3 weeks later as it rained after the first spraying.
3) Used a strimmer and bushcutter (strimmer with metal blade head) to cut down all the dead weeds and grass to ground level.
4) Raked it all up and dumped it (didn't bother composting it as it was full of seeds and v-woody).
4.1) Rake again a few days later to remove the dead surface grass and anything missed first time round.
5) Using a fork, started digging and loosening/turning the soil to the depth of the fork.
6) 24-48hrs later, re-dig the plot with fork again and remove ALL the grass roots and dandelion or dock roots/tubers. Again removing off the plot to be burnt later.
7) Rake over to remove any missed roots and make a fine tilth.
8) Marked out paths and beds.
9) Add manure to beds.

Stages 5 and 6 are the most labour intensive and back braking but they seem to work well in this way. The soil at my site is quite light so it dries quickly and the soil falls off the roots easily once after it has been dug, turned and dried for 24-48 hrs. The soil is now very loose (like a fine tilth) to a depth of about 15-16" and I'm hoping to never dig it again.

[Alison]

I've just got an overgrown lottie too. Have decided not to go down the weed killer route except possibly in localised areas where everything else has failed. So far we've not managed to do very much. Had hoped to cut it back this weekend but other things took over and we didn't manage to get to the hire shop in time. However, we've got a plan which is to use a few days of leave up and clear and start digging in the next couple of weeks so at least we'll see some progress. Am now spending half my time checking out freecycle for any offers off old sheds, pallets etc!

[Megans-mum]

Hi there to everybody. I'M a first timer also. My husband has built me a raised bed to start with. Allotments are hard to come by where we live. My dilemma over the weekend was which soil to use. We think we might have cracked it though we have ordered 1 ton of soil / compost from Dandys. They say its organic and has beed screened etc. My next dilemma is can i plant carrotts in the spaces between my savoy cabbages whilst they are growing otherwise i will have un used space for a while whilst my cabbages grow. Can someone advise me on companion planting also. My raised bed is 10. 5 long x 4ft wide and 12 inches deep only my soil for the time being will only half fill it. I have bought 2 fleece cloches which have arrived today i cant belive how excited i got. So far i have 18 cabbage plants to put in 18 broccolli , onoins, sprouts & asparagus. Ive ordered some carrott seeds that will grow over the winter also. Can someone explain about the crop rotation system and how long or how often i should rotate my crops. My potatoes will be growing in a potato barrell apparently they should be ready by xmas ive begun to chit them as well. Thankyou to you all in anticipartion of lots of advise thanks judith.