No doubt a silly question.

[Yodiggety]

Hello,
Hubby and I have taken on a neglected plot locally but have no previous gardening know how.

We are currently digging over the surface of the plot to remove weed roots etc - but I am not quite understanding how to rake over the dug surface to level it without walking all over it ?

It is currently a big lumpy patch of land. Do I mark out paths now and try and rake from those? Surrounding plots seem to all have lovely flat crumbled soil. Not sure how to get from A to B!

[WendyC]

Welcome to the Vine. If you work backwards you won't tread on the ground you have just prepared. You can also work from a plank or scaffolding board and move it backwards as you go. Why do you need it raked smooth? It only needs to be like that if you are about to plant into it. If you are not planting cover the ground when you have weeded or they will be straight back. Landscape membrane, manure or cardboard are all options.


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[veggiechicken]

I'd rake it all over, level it off, see what you have and plan your beds from there.
Someone with another suggestion will be along shortly

[skeggijon]

Personally, I would only dig/weed the space that you are immediately going to use and tread down the rest of the weeds before covering with weed suppressant membrane, polythene, cardboard or even old carpet. if the land is covered and weighted down, the weeds will die and be re-absorbed by the soil.

No point in burning yourself out weeding just for the sake of it.

[Two_Sheds]

We are currently digging over the surface of the plot to remove weed roots

Soil isn't bare for long. It has to be covered by something: crops, mulch, or weeds. If you don't plant it up or cover it with a mulch, Nature will fill it with weeds for you

We're now at the end of the growing season, so you have no rush. The next planting opportunity is November, with Japanese onions & broad beans, but these aren't essential jobs: you could plant onions & broadies in spring.

If you want weed removal to be a joy not a chore, then cover your plot with wet newspapers or cardboard until March. When you remove them, your soil will be moist & crumbly, full of worms and with few or no weeds remaining

[Vince G]

Good time for planning and maintenance. Get your plot system marked out, get paths made up. Build a shed.....

Then cover it as Ts says and sit back, thumb through the seed catalogues or websites and plan what's going where.

In November, plant shallots, garlic, autumn planting onions and varieites of broad beans and peas that can overwinter. Autumn planted onions seem to keep better when you dig them up, Broadies will be a couple of weeks earlier than spring sown ones, and peas will be early enough to miss the pea maggots!