Clearing the plot...

[Wicked.Witch.Of.Westbury.]

ready for planting.

What is the best/quickest way of doing this??

We have had our plot about two months now and we have the front part cleared and got things planted in there but the back part is still a bit over grown, and we do need to get it in hand.

Thank you x

[Fluorescent green]

Hi

If you don't mind using dangerous chemicals, spray it all with weed killer, when we have a nice dry/bright spell.
After it has all died down dig it over and put all the dead growth in your compost heap.
If you don't like to use chemicals, pretty much the same, but with lots more hard work.

FG

[Wicked.Witch.Of.Westbury.]

I did think about using a weed killer but wasnt sure how it would affect the things I will be planting??

[Matt.]

Don't use a permanant weedkiller and it will be fine. Just read the label as they're pretty clear what they do. The ones you want will say you can plant 24 hours after spraying. The ones you don't want claim 6 months weed free etc.

Persoanlly I'd leave it a couple of weeks from spraying to clearing and then planting. Give the stuff time to do its job and then it'll be much easier for you. Also you can see which areas need a second treatment.

[snuffer]

Go for a glyphosate based weedkiller. It takes a few weeks to work but does kill off roots and all. The active ingredients are inactivated on contact with the soil so it is safe to plant in the treated area once cleared.

Choose a nice still day so that you can control any drift. When I cleared my plot, last year, I always mixed a red food dye into the weedkiller so that it was easy to see exactly where the spray was going and which areas had been treated. Another tip, which I think came from HeyWayne, is to also have a watering can full of water or the garden hose on standby so that you can immediately wash off any spray that might go where you don't want it.

Ofcourse, idealy, it would be better to avoid chemicals but if the ground can be well and truly cleared using them in the first season you may never have to resort to them again.

[NOG]

Have a bonfire then when the ashes are white hot, rake them over the plot. They will then burn everyting off. Then start another fire and do it again till the plot is clear.

[Wicked.Witch.Of.Westbury.]

NOG we were thinking about a bonfire this weekend on that half of the plot, that way some of the work is already done for us and the ash is suppose to be good for the soil isnt it??

[Alison]

I have no intention of using chemicals on my site so am going for the chop it all back and cover method. Every time I want to prepare a new bed, I uncover that section and double dig as necessary. The covered sections stay at least partially dormant in the meantime.

[NOG]

It is one of the best things you can do for the plot. It will kill all the weeds, insects, and help the soil expecally if its clay. And the pot ash will act as a fertiliser.

[jonohanson]

To clear our plot we are using fire mostly but on some patches we have used a glyosulphate based weed killer, it does work but does take a couple of applications.

The fire is good although we have nearly ran out of wood now.