I FINALLY have a grassy old allotment plot! Woo hoo!!

[di]

Congratulations Victoria!...take it that means I won't be getting any of your butternut squash then!
Which site did you go for?All the best with it!x

[SarzWix]

RoundUp/Glyphosate won't make the ground unuseable for months. BUT, and it's a big BUT.... A good few of the weeds won't even be showing above the ground yet, so if you spray now, it will have no effect whatsoever on them, and you'll still have to dig them out! For instance, horsetail isn't showing any signs of growth yet and nor is the bindweed.
In my opinion, the best thing you can do at the moment is cover up as much as you can with cardboard, tarpaulins, weed fabric or whatever you can get your hands on; draw up your plans of what will go where; mark a couple of beds out and start digging! Then you'll see what sort of weeds might be lurking underneath the soil, plus you'll get familiar with your soil type and have some idea of what you might need to add to it to improve it etc. In late April or so when all the other weeds are springing into life, peel back your covers on the un-dug bits, and spray whatever pops up then if you still feel the need. It will be much more effective at that time of year. (Make sure it's on a still day, you don't want the spray to drift onto your or anyone else's crops )

[Victoria26]

I have quite a bit of tarpaulin so I will try that and the cardboard first before i resort to the chemicals. I really want to this properly.

I dont get the keys until another 10 days.... What am I gonna do for 10 days??? I know....I'll get sowing.

Oh and I'm on the scrounge so if anyone hears of anything free to a good home in the Ipswich area......

....Mwah ah ah aha ha ah aha I have a LOTTIE!!!

[Jillyreeves]

Congratulations on getting allotment

I took over a huge grass covered plot just over a week ago and faced the same dilemma

We decided again using any sort of weed killer and in a week, the two of us digging for just a couple of hours a day (didnt want to kill ourselves) we have cleared a 20 x 12 foot strip ready for use. We have dug it over several time and removed all weeds, root, stones, glass and assorted strange items like a fire fender, various pieces of rusted metal and even a shoe. It wasnt easy but the satisfaction of doing it by hand makes it worthwhile in my opinion.

We intend to clear more area as we go and later today I am covering an area with thick black pond liner to kill off the grass before we dig it over.

Roman wasnt built in a day, so dont try and clear it all at once, you will get it done eventually

Happy Gardening

[MrsC]

Congrats on the new lottie!

[Eyren]

Great news, Victoria!

Our lottie was knee-deep in grass when we got it. It's taken a lot of strimming and digging and we still aren't done (mainly because we are both seriously unfit and haven't got stuck into it as hard as we should have ), but covering the ground has helped a lot. Here's one of the photos I took when we got it:

It's Ours (Small Plot? No Problem!)

[faerieprincess]

That's fabulous! Well done and have fun

[Stacey Steve]

Although spraying will start to kill off the top growth within a couple of weeks, it takes longer for the roots to be killed off. Also as the top groth dies, it gives room for the seeds in the soil to start off, so you are then going to start all over again. I know as I took on 3 plots that were about 4' high in weeds. 3 years on, I'm still tackling it.

I found that by covering the majority of the area, the bits you are really not going to be able to get done this year and really working small areas at a time, you will be able to get some good crops in your first year. However it all depends on how much time you have each week to be able to spend on your plot.

I only have the weekends and holidays that I can spend, so it has really been slow but progressive.

The hard work is really all worth while when you start to pick your own crops.

Plan carefully now and you will save a lot of time and effort for the future.

Most of all enjoy!

[Matt.]

I'd use the glyphosate based weedkiller to sort out the toughest of the grass. It will take a few weeks to work but then you can rotovate and turn the plot into a large usable space for this year. Sure you may end up causing some issues with chopping up living weed roots but I think getting the whole plot cleared available for planting is worth that pain. Its easier to go round afterwards hoeing weeds. I've seen folk try the dig only method and it takes a long time. If you're not done by summer the grass is high and will start setting seed.

I've used the B&Q own brand weedkiller (not the 6 month stuff) and its great. Buy the concentrate stuff and it works out much cheaper.

[Becca]

I'm in the no weedkiller camp, and mine was 10ft high in brambles and nettles when I got it so it was about as daunting as it gets.. I'd advise strim it all down low, then get lots of cardboard and lay it out ontop on the weeds, and pile earth/compost ontop on that in a good thick layer. and plant into that. The cardboard will keep most weeds other than brambles in my experience (I'd dig these out individually first if you only have a few, take out the main chunk and that'll either weaken them or kill them) and you can keep the top bit weeded easily as they won;t have deep roots. The card seems to stay more or less whole for a season, and then rots down by the time you're ready to dig next year by which time it'll be alot easier to dig as the weeds and roots have rotted down I'm digging over the beds I made this way last year and it worked a charm I was 'lucky' in that as my plot had a couple of ridges of earth (created when a previous owner just stripped off the weedy top soil and piled it up) to donate the soil for ontop of the card so I kill 2 birds with 1 stone by leveling the plot too, but if you didn't want to buy in lots and lots of compost you could maybe if you dig a patch and have a cardboarded patch next to it then you could share out the dug soil between the 2 and then enrich both with compost etc rather than buy in enough to cover the card and you have 2 beds for the digging effort of 1..

[-pat m]

I went for the round up option on the grassland where I wanted to site my poly-tunnel. It was just over 10 months ago – touch wood all seems fine. Covering wasn’t an option due to the size and fact that I wanted to get started straight away. Due to weather and work commitments I didn’t rotovate the ground for another three months and I have been lucky enough to have no grass growth at all – Three ton of horse manure and it looks like it was always meant to be a plot – Happy Gardening Victoria and congrats on the lotty

RTegards
Pat

[Victoria26]

Had someone contact me from freecycle who was clearing out his aunties shed and has a few bits and bobs for me! Will go on Wednesday to pick it up!

Woo hoo! Result!!