Rotavator

[Jean Ann]

Could anyone tell me if I can use a Rotavator now to clear an allotment.

I have used weed killer on it but there are still some weeds left which I have tried to dig out. I am thinking of hiring one in the next couple of weeks, is this the right thing to do or should I wait until next year?

[veggiechicken]

Hello and welcome to the Forum.
I can't help with your question, sorry, as I have never used a rotavator - or weedkiller!
I'm sure someone will be along in the morning who can advise you.

[noviceveggrower]

Just asking what weeds have you/ did you weed killer?

[4390evans]

You gotta be careful using a rotavator with weeds still in the ground, just think, if you have one dandilion and you shred that root into 6 pieces the you will get 6 new weeks, not including the ones from seeds. I cleared my ground and then used a rotavator to add sand to my heavy soil. Its done the job. If its a large b8t of land maybe concentrate on one bit at a time.

[RaptorUK]

Could anyone tell me if I can use a Rotavator now to clear an allotment.

I have used weed killer on it but there are still some weeds left which I have tried to dig out. I am thinking of hiring one in the next couple of weeks, is this the right thing to do or should I wait until next year?

There is a neglected plot (totally overgrown) next to mine, a new holder took it over last year and rotavated it then he covered some of it and cultivated other parts . . . . now it is worse than before, the weeds are higher than ever and the new holder hasn't been seen for some time.

Many weeds such as Couch grass and Bind Weed will regrow from tiny bits of root . . .

[Aberdeenplotter]

I'm a big fan of rotavators. I have a merrytiller, a howard bantam, a howard 300, a mantis and I also have a howard 200 awaiting renovation.

Horses for courses machines. The Howard 300 is almost 60 years old but is an amazing machine. Power driven wheels with two forward and a reverse gear.

However, as big an enthusiast as I am, I would not use any of the machines on a plot on which I didn't know what was growing simply because the likes of couch/dock/bishopweed if chopped up by the rotors will multiply the volume of these weeds many times over.

Also, a rotavator has a set maxium depth and will naturally cause a "pan" to develop.

So with a new plot, digging over and removing perennial weeds is an essential before putting any machine onto the ground.

[Scarlet]

Keep it all covered over with card board and dig one section at a time. Larger areas that you haven't managed to get at by spring can be planted up through the card. This is great for courgettes, squashes and pumpkins. I put lots of grass clippingto hold the newspapers and card down. It may not look pretty but it will stop areas getting overgrown when you've got your hands full.

Welcome to the vine Jean. Are you going to tell us more, where's your plot, what do you intend to grow and have you got any photos?

[Bill Door]

Hi Jean Ann

Just a few things about this

1 As others have said the rotavator makes digging the ground easy but does not half give other problems. If it was your machine then I would say go ahead and just keep at it in spring. Yes weeds will re-grow but continual rotavating will kill it off. However, to do this you would have to re-hire/borrow the machine at great expense.

2. The other problem is that the ground is probably sodden where you are (it is here) so again that will make the work much harder. Strangely digging with a fork will be easy (if mucky) and the nasty weeds (docks, dandelion and bindweed) will separate from the soil much easier. If you tackle a small area at a time and cover the remainder it will make life much easier (as others have said). If you do dig with a fork do it in short spurts rather than set a big area to do (backache and being dead tired take their toll).

3. Remember you will never get rid of every weed every year. Some will always come back because of dormant seeds, seeds blown onto your plot or the little devils lay hidden! Weed killer is only effective when the weeds are growing. If your have bindweed stick a long stick in the ground nearby and encourage the bindweed to grow up it. You can then go out on a nice sunny day and brush weed killer all over the leaves of the bindweed without dropping it on any vegetables. I have read that you should make the weedkiller less concentrated than it says on the packet. At full strength the tops die off quickly but the roots may survive, a weaker mixture gets to the roots and it all dies off even if you have to paint the weed two or three times.

4. time you can spend at the allotment is also a factor. So if you can hoe two or three times a week (10 or 15 minutes each time) during spring and summer then most weeds will be held in check.


Good luck with the vegetables and enjoy your gardening.

Bill

[Jean Ann]

Thanks so much for all your advice. I think it looks like I will have to forget the Rotavator and just dig it all over and be patient. There were a lot of mare's tails which I used Verdone on and it seemed to work, but there are still some left. There is also couch grass together with other weeds but a lot have been killed off with the weed killer. Thanks again

[RaptorUK]

To get rid of Horsetail you need much stronger stuff than Verdone or Roundup (Glyphosate) . . . your best option is to pull it up when you see it and suffer it. I hate the stuff, I find it a real problem when I have very young plants/seedlings in the ground as pulling it out often disturbs the small plants.

[Penellype]

Hi Jean Ann, welcome to the vine.

I agree with all the above. Last year I was given the use of a friend's vegetable patch (about 3m by 4m, so nowhere near as big as an allotment) which was infested in places with couch grass, creeping thistle, silverweed and horsetail. The soil was reasonably soft as it had been used for potatoes (many of which were still in the ground). In one year I was able to clear almost all of the thistle and couch and some of the silverweed using no weedkiller. I did it by digging the whole plot, pulling out every scrap of weed I could see. I then meticulously dug out each piece that grew back, making sure I got out all of the root if at all possible. The only bits that escaped this treatment were the ones directly under crops that I had planted, and those were dug out when the crops were harvested. The horsetail was a real pain as the roots are black and invisible and go down several feet. I don't know of any way of eradicating it. The silverweed has dark brown fleshy roots which break up easily and these have proved a real pest, but there is far less of it now than there was.

I would not like to tackle a much bigger area than this in this way, so if I obtained a plot in the same state as yours this is what I would do:
Divide the plot up into areas of a size that I could easily cope with (in my case probably about 3-4sq m).
Cover the plot with as much organic material as I could find - compost, leaves, newpaper, cardboard, manure (if you know that it is safe from aminopyralid weedkiller), etc. Then cover this layer with black plastic or thick cardboard, well weighted down. Scaffolding poles are useful for this if you can get hold of them. Leave one of the areas uncovered for you to work on and dig this part, removing weeds as you go.

You should find that by the time you have finished with the first area, the worms have done some of the hard work for you on the rest, and the plastic or cardboard has suppressed some of the weeds. Many of the weed roots should also be near the surface, in the nice, loose layer of organic stuff, and should come out really easily. You will be left with some deep ones, but the whole job of digging these areas should be a lot easier. As has been said, you could use some of this space planting things through holes in the covering. Potatoes will grow through black plastic, and the potatoes tend to form near the surface so they are easy to pick, while the plastic stops them going green.

Very, very important - don't rush planting anything permanent until you are quite sure that you have got rid of those perennial weeds. Getting rid of couch from bare soil is difficult, getting it out from under asparagus, fruit bushes, rhubarb etc is impossible.

Good luck with it, and enjoy

Also, if you don't fancy digging, why not make raised beds on top once you have got rid of the worst of the weeds as above?

[Jean Ann]

Thanks for your helpful reply - I'm not looking forward to all the digging but I'm interested in the idea of raised beds and will look into it after I've removed as many weeds as I can. I will maybe make a start this weekend before the rains come.

[goosander]

Have used a Howard Gem and a tractor driven rotovator for many years before retiring. Any weeds in the ground will require at least three goes with a machine spraying in between them done in the summer time if possible. Rotovating on wet ground just turns the soil hard like concrete.
If you do not need the plot for a season then sow seed with a rough grass seed and cut as often as possible as this helps to get rid of a lot of weeds.
Bob

[KevinM67]

Have used a Howard Gem and a tractor driven rotovator for many years before retiring. Any weeds in the ground will require at least three goes with a machine spraying in between them done in the summer time if possible. Rotovating on wet ground just turns the soil hard like concrete.
If you do not need the plot for a season then sow seed with a rough grass seed and cut as often as possible as this helps to get rid of a lot of weeds.
Bob

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As an old Foxbar boy, we used to get through the hole in the fence of the golf course - on our way to the baths.

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