Removing (weed) roots from soil

[TracyP]

Hi
I have a small area which previously had mainly weeds, lots of them. I have dug it up and there are many small roots there, pretty much right thru the soil, almost impossible to remove.

I was considering removing much of the soil and replacing it with new soil mixed with rotted manure for planting next year. Do you think this is sensible?
Thanks for any advice

[Demeter]

We had the same situation when we started our plot at the city farm. We dug it over and removed all the roots we could, but this was just the larger ones. We did not bother with the little root fibre-y stuff, only "things we could pick up with gloves on" was my test!! I don't think many weeds can regrow from the little tiny roots, they need to have the thicker roots.

Anyway, we obviously missed a few as some of the weeds have grown back over the season but not many, and on the whole it was all right, especially in the bed where we grew spuds! We've been removing lurkers as we clear the beds, and will have another chance in spring, so we're not bothered about having missed a few. We are also covering any beds that we are not using for veg over the winter (cardboard weighted down with manure) as this will slow down any weeds that might be thinking about regrowing, and hopefully kill them off altogether!

So if it were me I would remove what roots you can, accept that you might miss a few the first time around, and go for it, use the space for spuds next year and that will help too. (This is what I am slowly doing in the allotment which I acquired in July, although obviously not growing spuds over the *whole* plot )

Removing and replacing the soil sounds like a lot of work and expense. (However, I would definitely add the rotted manure!!)

[terrier]

If it's only a small area, you could run the soil through a course riddle, but you'd have to pick a few dry days at this time of year. Once the ground has been dug over, any roots you've missed will be easy to pull out once you see a bit of green and regular hoeing will take care of the small weed seedlings.

[Snadger]

I normally find that grabbing a clod of earth by the scruff of the neck and datting it against the side of your spade leaves you with most of the sod and roots in your hand. Then it's just 'over your shoulder' and on with the next spadeful!

[coreopsis]

Depends on what weed and what kind of soil.The soil is ok in my place(could do without the stones)but weeds-I can deal with ground elder but my real nightmare is creeping buttercup.It doesn't matter how many I'llpull out-it always finds the way

[TracyP]

Thanks very much. TBH honest there are so many weeds that it wil take forever to remove, so I'm just going to do the shake and bin method and take out the big ones, then try to improve the soil - heavy clay so will mix some sharp sand, topsoil and manure and hope for the best. Oh and buy a good hoe

Thanks again, you're all great