Excited, but daunted!!!!

[sharonmd]

Hi all!

I am now the proud (but somewhat!) daunted owner of an allotment!!!

Went to see the plots available yesterday and this guy and I who were there first had the pick of them, so we decided on one to share between us which is great!

There will be lots of digging needed though as it's all just grass at the moment! Have to wait for the council to clear some stuff on it before digging can commence, but hopefully that will happen this week!

There is a little shed there though which needs a bit of repairing which my other half is going to do for me!

Got to get the shed fixed so can leave tools there and then get on with the digging. What's the opinions on rotivators or is just old fashioned digging the best option. Apparently the soil is reasonably ok there but not sure as yet what sort it is!

Would welcome any advice on how to prepare and what can be planted now if anything!!

Thank you! Sharon

[nick the grief]

Hi Sharon,

Well done on getting a lottie.

Don't worry about the shed for tools Sharon - Put a stove & Kettle in there!!!! Man cannot dig without Tea

If you do a search on the Vine there was a whole thread about what to plant now. Best advise I can give you is Just cos there's a lot of diging needed don't got at it like a mad thing you'll just get a bad back & hacked off with it.

If it's weedy try and cover as much as you can the clear & dig a bit big enough to plant up & keep that under control.

If it's not been done for a while you will get loads of weeds come up when you sarts to dig as they lie dormant for ages but little & often & you'll crack it.

[NEWTO THE PLOT]

was thinking of a rotivator myself sharon after i finish chopping down brambles, then was going to strim down the plot rotivate cover half then see where to go from there as by this time it will proberly be next spring does this sound like a good plan??? or should i go another way any advice welcome also with nick on the kettle thing i was gasping today after a couple of hours

[Waffler]

The problem with rotivators I heard, is that they can quite happily chop the weeds up and distribute the tiny pieces all over the place to happily grow in to more weeds (think Sorcerers Apprentice!) I guess it would be ok so long as you know there aren't any weeds there - not even tiny ones just germinating.
I too was considering one, but thought about hiring one at the necessary times as they're very expensive aren't they?

[nick the grief]

If you want to rotavate you need to take the stuff like the Docks & dandelions out first. If you chop couch grass up it will re grow but this can be easier to get out some times than trying to dig it over. I'd be tempted to spray it all & then cover it over & maube think about one the following years.

As to cost, if you buy a new one thay are expensive but you can get a good 2nd hand one cheap enough (£200 ish depending on the engine size)

[Snadger]

I would add mares tail,thistle,ground elder,bindweed to the list of 'not to use a rotavator on' weeds!
There are many more creeping perennials that would just love for you to give them a new lease of life by chopping there rhysomes/stolons up with a rotovator and creating new plants! Think long and hard before resorting to one, even weedkiller will not kill some of the more pernicious weeds!

On a brighter note, we have all been there and have learned by experimentation. If there are no pernicious weeds a rotovator could be a useful tool!

[Mrs Dobby]

Hi Sharonmd, congrats on the new plot and welcome to the vine!

We too have recently taken on our first allotment, which was 8' deep in weeds, and we also considered rotivating it, but decided as there were loads of nasties that would have been all too happy to have been spread to tackle it by hand!

Its hard work, and with wanting to stay organic we are steadfastly refusing to use weedkiller, but rewarding! We started by removing all of the taller stuff, pulling up as much as we could, then sorted out the bed edging and paths, barking them up as we went, and are now going back and double digging every bed, pulling out all the weed roots that we can find to a depth of 2 spades! Its hard work, but where we've dug there's nothing coming back, so although we know we wont get everything it will make it easier to keep on top of long term (I hope!!) Once we've cleared the beds we are planting with winter crops the others will be double dug and then covered in black plastic until the spring, so hopefully wont be too weed infested come planting time!

Good luck with your clearing, hope you enjoy it as much as we have been!

[jlottie]

Its best if you take your time, cleaning a small patch at a time, and dig out as many of the nasties as you can. Once dug, wait and see what comes up, dig the nasties out again and spray the rest. A good mulch of manure will keep a lot of the weeds down and do wonders for your soil for next year. Keep a patch clear of manure and cover with old carpet or landscape fabric for your root vegetables. Next year once the weeds are under control you might consider hiring a rotovator or borrow one to see if you want to invest . I invested in a mantis this year and now wouldnt be without it

[jlottie]

Just had a thought, I don't know where you are but the link below (R J Harris Moon Gardening) gives contacts for free horse manure collections in the SW

[jlottie]

Oops forgot the link

http://www.moongardening.cwc.net/OPENING%20PAGE.html

[vicki]

how long do you have to leave the ground covered to have an effect on he weeds? If I'm clearing my plot of weeds now, and then cover it over the winter do you think this will kill off weeds before planting in the spring? Or should I spray ith round-up or something as well?

[Snadger]

how long do you have to leave the ground covered to have an effect on he weeds? If I'm clearing my plot of weeds now, and then cover it over the winter do you think this will kill off weeds before planting in the spring? Or should I spray ith round-up or something as well?

Weeds, like anything else do most of there growing in the summer. When they are trying to put on top growth is the best time to cover them because they will give up and die. During the winter they may be semi-dormant anyway so the effects of covering them won't be so dramatic.
If the cover doesn't kill all, it will certainly weaken them though!

Weed killing using herbicides is a personal issue but if you did spray them , you would have reasonably clean beds in spring!

[sharonmd]

Thanks for the advice everyone!!

I just want to get started and it's frustrating being stuck in my office when I could be outside making progress!! Hopefully this weekend will be reasonable weather and things can be done!

I think I will just dig over a small area and plant some fruit bushes, onions and garlic for now and then cover over the rest of the air with black plastic and let the weeds and grass die off for a bit and go from there!

Looking forward to fixing the shed and I will remember about tea and coffee etc!!

Thanks Jlottie re the manure, but we're in Kent although we are coming down to Cornwall at the end of the month!! Sharon

[jlottie]

Hi Sharon

There is free manure in Kent too, hope one is close enough.

http://www.moongardening.cwc.net/KEN...20PAGE%201.htm

jl

[Burnzie]

Hi, I would be tempted to get it sprayed now, with professional grade Roundup, if possible. Then turn it, but leave it rough over winter to let the frost break it up. Come the spring it will break down to a nice fine tilth with a small rotavator, Mantis is a good lightweight machine.

Any weeds regrowing should be easier to remove from the cultivated soil.

Good luck whichever route you take, and enjoy it.

Tony