Newbie - Advice Needed!

[Pumpkin Becki]

I've got a smallish plot (probably about 14m x 4m), so we decided to buy 2.4m long x 6" wide gravel boards (I know I've got imperial and metric all going on at the same time - I can't help it, sorry). So our beds are 2.4 long (this gives us a narrow access path down one side and a wide one (big enough to get a wheelbarrow down) on the otherside.) and they are 90cm wide. This is a comfortable width for me to reach across and they aren't so long that I'm tempted to step on the bed rather than walk round, which would compact the soil.

Each bed is 2 boards high (thus 12"), and the pegs in the corners and midway down the lengths of the beds are another 9" ish taller than that. This means that we can put an extra board on a bed if its having root crops in it during that rotation for extra depth, though saying that, my parsnips don't seem to mind the clay subsoil at all and burrow straight down into it.

I also have a small bed with my Rhubarb in it, coz that doesn't need rotating obviously. I don't have any other soft fruit or perrenials at the lottie, though I suspect these could be grown in the open ground with lovely thick mulches of compost to feed and help suppress the weeds. I'm sure others will advise here.

There are ready made raised bed kits on the market, but these are the expensive option and probably only realistic for someone looking to use raised beds in a small area.

I hope that helps.

[Peter]

..... have been told to try and remove between 4-6" off the top layer..........

Which damm fool told you to do that?

"Ok newbie, dig up and remove your topsoil, then try and grow stuff"

As I said earlier, there is hard work, or there are chemicals.

You do not need to apply chemicals every week forever, you could use them during the first year only to kill enough of the weeds to be able to manage from there on.

If carpet is not allowed at your site then weedproof membrane can be got from builders merchants, diy stores, or garden centres. Wickes is a good bet.

While you are shopping, consider a propane powered roofers torch. Like a baked bean tin on a three foot rod, with a handle and gas tap at the other end. Attaches to standard red gas bottle.
Amazing how well all the surface grass vanishes under its attention, then the soft fresh new growth will sprout clean and vigerous, just how tumbleweed likes it. Anyway it cleans all sorts of rubbish away so you can see what you've got and what you're doing.

[Gwyndy]

There is no substitute for good, honest hard work. Work a small patch at a time, remove all the weed, and make sure that you get out all the couch grass and bindweed root. Turn the soil over and dig in some good manure or compost. Plant and enjoy watching your crops go. It gets easier every year as you start to conquer the nuisance weeds and you slowly improve the soil.

If you want raised beds make them from gravel board - available from Wickes. Pack of 5 lengths - 1.8 mtr x 19 mm x 150 mm - is £13.70, plus you'll need some 50mm square for the internal corners.

[miffy]

All of the above is excellent advice, these guys know their onions. I am a newbie like your good self and my advice is divide up your plot and start with a managable chunk, cultivate that first, then you will see some results and begin to grow things, once you have used the above advice on that and seen what works, then attack another section, that way it won't seem like the fourth bridge. As Wayne says, wise fella that he is there is no substitute for hard graft and it will take time, hard graft and sweat and tears but it will be worth it in the end. Good Luck

[Sue]

Hi Ibroxblue
I am on heavy clay and had a long struggle to get from wilderness to a clear growing space.
I was recommended to use plastic to cover unworked area and was not a good idea, absolute haven for slugs and it made the ground underneath very slimy - horrible.
I've always gone with cardboard every since. Just cut down weeds to ground, cover with cardboard and any compost you have and wait, after six months or so, do it again and after a year, the cardboard is all gone and the top surface is getting workable (thankyou worms) After that, start digging out the perennial roots of bindweed, dock, dandelion and couch grass and you can start planting.
Keep adding any manure or compost you can get hold of and in the summer mulch round your plants like crazy and you can keep the soil nice and damp, exposed clay soil is concrete! I use wet newspaper and grass cuttings and tea bags.
I managed to get 147 courgettes off two plants last year doing this and only ever watered them when I first planted them.

The only other thing I'd add is that if you use cardboard then pick off ALL the plastic tape first - I speak from experience.... still finding it in the soil in the first patch I did.

And yes, raised beds are great on heavy clay.
Sue

[long pod]

hi Ibroxblue
got my allotment late last year completly covered in couch grass and weeds put two lots of round up on it and 4 weeks later the wind in the right direction i backed burned the whole lot since then its been dug and been down there today and only had to remove a dozen dandelion weeds seem to of worked for me and saved a lot hard work
fingers crossed the couch grass is no more
regards long pod

[geoff]

Have a browse through preovious threads as this question comes up fairly often

It's better to clear a part of the plot, say a third, thoroughly, and just leave the rest roughly hacked down, fallow, or mulched/covered. Trying to do the whole plot at once is very hard work, so you tend not to do it as well as you would like

Don't use a rotovator on weedy ground, it will just replant them; a rotovator is best for established gardens; but it's not as easy to use as it looks, so see if you can borrow one to try before buying

Digging and weeding, followed by hoeing gives the best results; it's also cheaper, if tedious