Oh my days, got cough grass? get a MATTOCK!

[blackmore]

Have had a massively productive few days! Finally managed to clear the couch grass and weeds from a 3*2m corner of the allotment and I'm not gonna lie... It was a lot of work with a spade and fork! But we did it. It's all lovely loose soil ready for a bit of manure and then some planting!



Now onto the real meat and potatoes! Getting through the thick turf the couch has created was a lot of graft but my friend swears by his mattock and can't stop raving about it so I thought I'd give it a whirl.

Picked one up from B&Q and on Friday and Oh. My. God (channeling some Janice from Friends) this thing tears through it! I've read a lot that the rhizomes of cough remain fairly close to the surface so it's quite easy getting under the couch crown and lifting the whole thing out like a turf!

Definitely going to have to sift through the carnage for missed roots and the like but we've made so much progress with it, it feels like anythings doable now!



Managed to clear the grass from the second half of the bed in one afternoon! Getting back to tomorrow to dig it over and get planting!

Basically long story short, if you've got some ground to clear, get yourself a mattock and get smashing!

[Jay-ell]

Mattocks and Irish Shovels are much better for the heavy work than garden spade and fork.

[chillithyme]

Wow, it looks amazing
Yes I agree, mattocks/azadas are brilliant, I did the same thing with my new allotment in the autumn, it takes no time at all, I still have to sieve and remove any left over roots etc, but psychologically it's so rewarding to see the top removed so quickly I didn't have time to fully remove the roots so I covered the area with weed control fabric, made some holes and planted through garlic, broad beans and shallots

I also used it remove the jungle of tree like brambles which were on half of the plot, I broke a fork trying to do this, the mattock is definitely the way to go

[DannyK]

Turfing Irons are very good, used one to lift a lawn (not mine!) before paving but unlike mattocks don't lend themselves to other jobs.

[TrixC]

I use a trenching hoe, AKA Chillington crocodile. As a small, light person it’s been a game changer, I can even hack out bramble rooots.

[Stan79]

We have two mattocks... an old heavy wooden handled one and a lighter weight modern one with a composite shaft. The previous owner of our house clearly liked a particular type of ornamental grass which grows in big clumps 6 feet wide and 4 feet high... chopping the top growth off with a hedge trimmer and smashing through the base and roots with a matter is a joy!

[4Shoes]

I use a trenching hoe, AKA Chillington crocodile. As a small, light person it’s been a game changer, I can even hack out bramble rooots.

Is it true you only need to remove the crown of the bramble. The remaining roots will just die back?

I use the crocodile medium fork. Is quite good, but every so often whack a stone and bend a tine.

[nickdub]

Is it true you only need to remove the crown of the bramble. The remaining roots will just die back?

I use the crocodile medium fork. Is quite good, but every so often whack a stone and bend a tine.

with brambles and similar plants all the growth comes from one central knot, remove that and yes any roots left on the ground will die off - obviously best done before the plants makes enough growth for the tips to start making new plants where they touch the ground, as they sort of layer themselves naturally to spread .

[4Shoes]

with brambles and similar plants all the growth comes from one central knot, remove that and yes any roots left on the ground will die off - obviously best done before the plants makes enough growth for the tips to start making new plants where they touch the ground, as they sort of layer themselves naturally to spread .

Ideal... That is what I thought. Croc under middle and rip out