Mulch, couch grass, cardboard, manure... am I getting this right?

[Seahorse]

Ok, I *think* from all I've read that I'm on the right track here but if anyone can add their opinion (positive or negative!) before I embark on my plan, I would be very grateful!

I'm almost done with clearing the worst of the brambles on my lottie and am starting to dig and clear the weeds. It's going to be a long job though! So, whilst I'm digging the first bit, I want to try and get rid of (or at least keep down) the weeds on the rest of the plot. There's an awful lot of couch grass.

My plan is to hack off as much of the top growth as I can, lay a layer of cardboard and cover that with manure. I'll plant potatoes, squashes and beans through the mulch, then dig it in next year, whilst also removing any persistant weeds.

I know there's no perfect option but my first trailer load of manure arrives this week and I'm having a crisis of confidence!

If it helps, there are pics on my blog. This entry is probably the most useful (ignore all the waffling on!):

Thankyou For The Days: 'Greenhouse' revealed

[Hazel at the Hill]

Sounds like a good plan to me!

[lainey lou]

sounds like what i did back in the autumn Seahorse, seemed like the sensible thing too do at the time! Have had no reason to regret it!

[SarzWix]

My plan is to hack off as much of the top growth as I can, lay a layer of cardboard and cover that with manure. I'll plant potatoes, squashes and beans through the mulch, then dig it in next year, whilst also removing any persistant weeds.

I know there's no perfect option but my first trailer load of manure arrives this week and I'm having a crisis of confidence!

Thankyou For The Days: 'Greenhouse' revealed

Exactly what I did last year Seahorse, got a reasonable crop of potatoes, and the couch grass roots came out really easily after the potatoes were lifted. I daresay there's still some left, but MUCH easier to tackle once the manure & cardboard have improved the soil. Courgettes didn't do so well (weather tho I think), sweetcorn did ok though, grown through weed suppressant.
Have you seen The Allotment programme/DVD? The bloke off that (David Cemlyn?) plants up a whole allotment that way, seemed to get reasonable crops from a lot of it!
Anyway, go for it, and at absolute worst, it'll keep the weeds down til you can get to them

[Matt.]

Agree with your method aswell. Also don't fiorget that come spring when the grass starts growing glyphosphate (sp?) will come effective and should work well on couch grass. Check other posts about using this stuff because the grass has to be actively growing to work. If its covered in cardboard and mulch you won't get the desired effect. Nothing beats digging though for physically removing the majority of root from the soil. Slow and steady will win the battle.

[Seahorse]

Phew, no pointing and laughing!

Sarah, I didn't see it on tv but I've wondered about buying those DVDs before. I've just thought to look whether I can rent them from Love Film - and I can! I'll have to watch my current disc and get it sent back asap, so I can get the lottie one!

I've almost certainly decided against glyphosate. I know a lot of people are happy with it and it does the job but I'd rather be chemical free from the start.

[kentvegplot]

You can also plant potatoes right on top of the mulch - this is the 'no dig' method. You add straw/hay as the potatoes grow. (Garden Organic have all the details here http://http://www.gardenorganic.org....gGardening.pdf )

I used it last year - great crop of potatoes, and you can just 'pick' a few as you need them, rather than having to dig up a whole plant. Ground underneath is now very clean (have had to move the bed, so I had a look).

Good luck with it

[Seahorse]

Thanks ever so much for that KVP! What a good idea. I saw Flum had mentioned elsewhere that couch grass can grow right into potato tubers under certain conditions but this method would avoid that. Great!

[SarzWix]

Sarah, I didn't see it on tv but I've wondered about buying those DVDs before. I've just thought to look whether I can rent them from Love Film - and I can! I'll have to watch my current disc and get it sent back asap, so I can get the lottie one!

I bought them off the interweb, definately worth the investment, although the title music gets a bit annoying after a while