Work Started on Allotment New Pics

glodh1973

I am thinking of getting an Allotment the one i have seen weeds must be at least 3 foot high all over.

would like to know other peoples opinion on council rotivating it as not sure what to do.

mrbadexample

You don't necessarily want it rotavated. Some weeds, like couch grass, will regrow from every bit of root fragment, so chopping them into millions of bits can be counterproductive.

glodh1973

just trying to put some pics on really need some advice what the best way to deal with weeds is if rotivating is not a good idea :-/

glodh1973

mrbadexample

Blimey, you're going to be busy. :eek:

Someone better qualified than me (I've never tackled anything like that) should be along to tell you where to start. Get as much cardboard as you can though - you'll need it for covering the bits you can't immediately tackle. Don't try and do it all at once!

glodh1973

I know i cant believe they get left in this condition, there is 5 empty ones and this is the best one. you would think that when someone leaves they would put something on the plot to try stop weeds coming up like this.

Thats why i wasnt sure wether to have it rotivated but i deffo do not want even more weeds there is no point in it if i am just gonna escalate the problem.

valk_scot

Well, I see docks, bindweed, mares tail and couch grass. For starters. You don't want to be rotavating any of these belive me! Glyphosate and some serious digging is required i think...and I say that as a woman who hates digging and uses as few chemicals as possible. Must be good fertile soil though to support a weed population like that.

angelavdavis

Hiya,

It pretty much looks like most abandoned allotment plots that are on offer around my local area!

Personally I would:

- Cut back the weeds using shears - its a bit backbreaking, but it allows you to remove as much in-flower weed growth as possible, but you can also discover plants that may be hidden (such as fruit bushes). You may also discover other stuff like paths, etc! (I personally don't like using strimmers as they also cut through legs and wildlife such as slo-worms)
- Once you have cleared the worst and composted it (remove any in flower weeds or seed pods as you don't want them infesting your compost), I would remove the larger weeds if possible such as brambles and then cover areas with weighted down cardboard as has been suggested or strong weed suppressing fabric , leave the uncovered area for a week or so to start sprouting again and glyphosate this area. The glyphosate will start killing the growth without affecting the soil long term. You may have to retreat the uncovered area a couple of times.
- You can gradually uncover an area at a time and treat with glyphosate.
- If you want to start growing without using the weedkiller, use the lasagne bed method on an unglyphosated patch. It will enable you to get some produce without breaking your back digging. I did this last year when I took over an allotment mid-June. This time of year, the soil may well be rock hard. It won't completely rid you of your weeds, but it will remove a lot of them and weaken the rest.
- If you do plant using the lasagne bed method, I recommend starting plants off in pots to give them a chance with the slugs.
- Start digging over come autumn when (hopefully) the soil will be easier to work with. You can then leave the dug over beds to the frost which will help break up the ground.

Just my suggestions, I am sure others will have some helpful tips too. Good luck.

kinkyjinks

I would definitely NOT even consider rotovating your plot with some of the weeds I can see there. I'd scythe the top down, weed kill it (I'm all for organic gardening but bindweed and mares tail will grow more prolifically when you try to pull them up) let the weed killer do it's job, cover as much as possible in black plastic/cardboard and dig it 1 square metre at a time. I'd also recommend covering all that you've dug, if you're not planting anything, to prevent any more weeds coming through. You could use black plastic, carboard, carpet or even better, some green manure.

It's a little late to plant most crops just now apart from salad crops so I would spend this summer/autumn preparing the ground and planning what you are going to plant next year.

glodh1973

Thankyou for all your advice

I have not accepted the plot yet was just after everyones advice but with all the advice i think i will put the application in and cover it all with cardboard and do a bit at a time to prepare it for next year. :-0

Lotus-eater

Have all the plots you were offered, got mares tail? That's the really bad one you don't want. If there is one without, you could put up with alot more, just to not have it.

You could rotovate it, it will certainly make lots of new weeds, but you then need to go round the whole plot weeding constantly, till the weeds stop coming (hint, they will never stop coming ), in some ways it makes it easier, as the roots are chopped up and therefore easier to dig out. In some ways harder, as there will be alot more of them.

But would I rotovate it. probably not. I would chop the weeds down and cover the whole lot. If I wanted a bed, I would dig it properly, then cover everything I could on that also.

On the plus side you have what seems to be alot of comfrey, hopefully Boking 14, looks like it. And alot of opium poppies, so you could have a nice little business there.