Finally Ive got land!!!!!!! now what.......?

[Madame Mucksprout]

Hi,

Ive not been on here for a long time, I used to grow veg in containers in my small garden. Well now we hae bought a place with a fairly big garden and Im keep to get started properly BUT its a mess - a huge mess.

There is some lawn but the vegetable patch is a sea of bramble, bind weed and nettles and other delights. Its been strimmed but growing back already.

Ive calle dit a vegetable plot, thats pushing it got a pond and loads of rockeries by the look of it, huge chunks of rocky landscaping popping up. Where do I start with kittling the weeds and clearing and making good please?

Thanks

[WendyC]

Congratulations on your new growing space. I don't know how wet your soil is but if it's anything like mine, it will be sodden, making digging impossible. I'd cover the growing space you want to use to keep the weeds at bay. Something which is porous but won't let the light in e.g. Cardboard, landscape fabric, newspapers. Then you can lift and weed as you go when it's drier. If you use cardboard or newspaper you can even plant through it. Personally I wouldn't rotavate as you will chop up perennial roots, and make hundreds more.

[Madame Mucksprout]

oooh thats interesting, and well timed advice, as our first thought was - get a rotavator!

Thankyou, Ill definitely do that before the brambles come back in too much and I cant cover it! (Will also buy me some time, which I really need).

Thankyou

[vixylix]

ooh congratulations! the hard work's half the fun... honest

[Lisasbolt]

Congratulations on your land, it is so much easier having your gardening space at home, as you can just pop out for 5 mins or 2 hours whatever takes your fancy good luck

[Jungle Jane]

Are the rocks part of the pond surround? My parents have huge rocks around their pond on one side to add some height & they've planted things between them.

[Lumpy]

Oh what a lovely thing to have - all that plotting and planning.

What are you thinking about growing that you could not before - I bet you are spoilt for choice.

[ancee]

What a lovely challenge to have! I'd start in small blocks, then you won't get overwhelmed by it all. Start and finish one little patch, then move on. That's what I did, otherwise it can be a bit intimidating and daunting! Good luck

[Molliedollie]

If you've got brambles growing in the area you will need to cut those right back ( and keep on cutting them right back) or preferably dig them out if possible, otherwise they will grow and push up any covering you put over and keep on growing amongst your vegetables all through the summer.

[Bill Door]

Well Westforester congrats on obtaining the land.

My suggestion may sound silly but first steps for me would be to sit down have a cup of tea and think. Also get a gardening book and read as much as possible pay attention to crop rotation. This is a big subject but know the basics and you should be ok (sorry if "telling granny how to suck eggs" but i am not sure what you know).

First what do you want to eat? What will you and the family never eat (well for a couple of years anyway)? Do you hate courgettes or broad beans? Those are only examples to get you thinking as there is no need to grow what you don't want. You may just want to grow flora that is something for you to consider. Then start planning what seeds you want.

Next do the brambles cover everything or just in one area? If they are in one area I would try to dig them out by the roots, don't cut them back as it makes it easier to "wriggle" them around and take out all the roots (wear strong gloves). You can do that soon as it will not matter overly much what the ground looks like after you have trampled it. You can dig it over again if required. Dispose of roots in your green bin but think about composting other weeds in a compost bin. Put docks and bindweed in plastic bags and tie them up for 12 months or more then add to the compost bin.

If you want shallots then buy some and put them in modules ready for planting when the ground is dug over. Again if you have plants etc. to put in the ground get the appropriate area ready. The shallots will come to no harm if you leave them in the modules with the compost moist. Same with onion sets. or any other vegetables from seed.

Remember it is not a race to get the ground ready and the whole plot producing crops this year. You must look after your back. As someone has already said don't rotavate, all the nasty weeds love that and the roots get broken up and grow again.

So slow and steady is the plan from now on.

enjoy your gardening and any produce you grow. It always tastes better straight from the ground into the kitchen.

Bill

[bario1]

I agree about taking it slowly, I would set aside a small patch for growing a limited selection of vegetables this year. As for the rest, I would dig out as much bramble as possible, loosen the top layer of soil up with a spade (once it's dry enough to 'dig'!) then cover the whole lot with a thick layer of cardboard and mulch, and leave it to rot down over the season. This should kill off all the weeds, and leave you with fantastic soil for next season. In the meantime, observe the space, see where get's the sun, where gets waterlogged etc, address any drainage issues, and you'll be able to make a better plan next season. Decide whether you want to keep the pond (I would), and whether you want a grid-like system of beds, or a more organic design, where you might put a greenhouse/polytunnel/shed etc...
That's what I'd do, it'll be frustrating this year, but worth it in the end I reckon.

[Paulieb]

Hello from one Forester to another!

First step - I'd try to dig out the worst of the perennials that you can see (nettles, bindweed, brambles, docks). They will either grow under cardboard or through wet cardboard.

Then cover to stop the annual weeds in March April.

Are they definitely brambles and not a nice cultivar of a BlackBerry (not sure how you'd tell apart from waiting till harvest time).

Like everyone's said, take it bit by bit, start stuff in trays. Enjoy!!