The first dig..

[Stringbean]

Good morning one and all and Happy Friday!

I've recently taken on a plot and although it's not exactly overgrown it does have a fair covering of grass and weeds etc. I was wondering how you would attack it? Start at one end and dig and turn and pull out weeds etc as I go? Or would you use a rotivator on it?
I'm planning on going big with a manure covering and the ground is very light and almost dusty. Would you go with horse, pig or cow?

Sorry for the daft questions at 6.15am!

Much love
Adam

[Nannysally99]

Morning Adam, I am up at this ridiculous hour. Unfortunately I am a back yard gardener. Someone will be along real soon with the correct information.
Bribing with coffee usually helps

[Kristen]

it does have a fair covering of grass and weeds etc. I was wondering how you would attack it?

Depends a bit on the weeds, and if you cut all the tops off are you are left with "turf"? or a plot that has patches of bare soil showing and patches of weeds?

If "turf" I would trench dig it and bury the turf face down in the trench. It will rot down and provide a good sponge for moisture for the crops for several years. Couch grass will survive this method though ...

If it is weeds dotted about I would dig them out first - particularly tap root things like Dandelions - and then dig the plot over.

You could spray the lot with weed killer and then cultivate. The weeds need to be growing actively for the weed killer to work, so its still a bit early to get a good kill. Bindweed, for example, won't have any leaf at all as yet so that will get missed. Different views on using weed killer of course ... I'm in the "one initial application is fine" camp - I'd prefer that a newbie got a flying start and didn't give up in Year One through the job being too hard. (Something Glyphosate based, if you go down that route, for example Roundup)

Or would you use a rotivator on it?

Rotivator will chop up all the pernicious weed roots and all the bits will grow. Generally not a good idea. If you have used weedkiller first then could be fine. It fits my "flying start for newbies" approach!

I'm planning on going big with a manure covering and the ground is very light and almost dusty

The more the merrier. If you are going to trench dig the plot then incorporating some into the trench as you go would definitely help.

Dig a trench across the plot (one spade's width wide), barrow the soil to the far end. Loosen the soil in the bottom of the trench (aids drainage and breaks and "pan") and add manure if available.

If you are burying "turf" strip that off the next row to be dug and bury, face down, in the trench.

Dig the new row and plonk the soil into the previous row's trench.

At far end put he barrowed soil back into the final row's trench

Would you go with horse, pig or cow?

Yes

Ideally don't put it on the area where you are going to grow Carrots & Parsnips (it makes them fork when their root grows) but if it is a new plot and has not been tended well for some time then you could do the lot - it will just be a bit more difficult to peel your glove-shaped root veg.

[sparrow100]

I'd cover what I am not digging yet with a big tarp/piece of plastic to keep the light away from the weeds. And then dig by hand, pulling out the grass and weeds as I go.

Manure sounds great - just make sure it's rotted and not fresh. I put lots of fresh manure on 2 of my beds the year before last and had terrible crops of spuds, beans and squashes as a result.

I'd also find out what the weeds are. Some can be added to compost, some (often tap rooters, plus couch) shouldn't be but those can be burned or drowned.

[Kristen]

I'd also find out what the weeds are

This may help:
Weed Seedlings for recognition

[sparrow100]

slightly depressing how quickly they grow and how many of those I have...and add to that some horsetail to season the misery/need to keep the hoe shifting.

[alldigging]

Whatever muck you can get that is most well rotted. And as much as you can get. Stack a huge pile if you can and spread it as no dig option too over cardboard.

[skeggijon]

I agree with alldigging - though thinking that someone with the sobriquet of alldigging is being almost sacrilegious suggesting a no dig option

[Stringbean]

Wow thank you all for the advice. I really appreciate it. I'll be going to the plot tomorrow to start the clearing. Decided to avoid the weed killers, not because I'm a tree hugger I'd just rather put the work in and get it done.
On the manure point I've found a great supply of well rotted horse manure and they will deliver it to the plot but am I mad for thinking of paying for it? Do you guys just get the manure and do little and often? I haven't mentioned the idea of buying horse poo to the mrs yet because it might push her over the edge!

[WendyC]

We pay for the manure delivered to the allotment site but it only works out about £10 for 20 barrow loads. To be honest if you have found something you are happy with, I would go for it as you need it now and would say it's worth paying for the convenience. You can investigate free sources over the months before you need some again. Do ask about the weed killers used on the horses' grazing land, especially whether they have used anything containing aminopyralid.

[Stringbean]

Well I've started. First dig today, quite hard going but very enjoyable. I feel like I've spent the day at the gym. Only dug 10 rows which sounds quite pathetic when you say it out loud but I'm pulling out all the root as I go. Little and often will be my method I think.
Met a couple of nice chaps who seem to spend their lives on the plot. Very helpful and full of advice and encouragement.
Back down there Monday after work as long as I don't wake up in the morning with crippling back pain!

[Snadger]

Horse muck tends to bring in a lot of weed seeds methinks.(At least it does for me)I think a cows multiple stomachs do a better job of neutralizing weed seeds.
As long as they are annual weeds though its just another form of mulching! I just use any type of organic matter I can get, preferably FREE!

[Nicola.P]

I buy my manure from the garden centre. Expensive but the brand is very well rotted and also mixed with seaweed ahich is good for plants. I can only get fresh poo locally.

I have found out as only had my plot 1.5mths that all the digging and weeding you do now is what is going to prove to the old timers on the plot that you are serious and will stick around, then they will start to be friendly. Little and often I have found to be better. I dug a slim row then on hands and knees picking out the weeds. It was slow going but worth it to make it very clear soil.

[Two_Sheds]

the ground is very light and almost dusty

My allotment paths are like that, and so was the school veg plot when I started it. Add mulch, all the time, and dig over as little as possible (turning over the soil dries it out even more).

You don't "need" manure: use straw, chopped up weeds etc