New Plot, Where To Start

reecos

Hello

I've managed to secure a piece of land and I'm hoping to start a growing project with the young people that I work with.

We have dug out some beds and I have been able to borrow a rotorvator to go over them. We'll then be picking out all the weeds and stones.

I'm hoping the frosts over winter will kill off any remaining weeds but what else can I do to make sure my beds stay weed free and to improve the soil? Would adding a mulch of horse manure to the beds do me any favours?

sirbrainy

Probably full of seeds

But it would be great for the soil.

Best ways to keep weeds at bay are fill the bed with something else; weeding sooner rather than later; using black plastic etc and planting through that.

gardenroute

Frosts and rotovators won't kill many weeds except the small annual ones. Rotovating soil full of perennial weeds like docks and dandelions will spread the roots around and make your weed problem worse.
The manure will rot a lot of the weed seeds at the surface and do a lot to improve the soil. Add at least a few inches of manure to the soil.

forgotmyname

Plastic over anywhere we are not currently working on has killed a lot and weakened the rest of the weeds.

Put potatoes in 1st and waited for them to sprout then put old manure/compost/chippings inbetween the plants
to help keep the weeds down.

After pulling the spuds we put newspaper down and piles of manure/compost/chippings on top.


Hopefully the thick covering over the soil will prevent weeds for future years and a mix of stuff
on the top will breakdown over the winter and early next year to give me a great soil base.

Only time will tell i guess.

I do a similar thing with my compost at home, Anything and everything goes into it and it soon vanishes.
Fill the bin to the top and a few weeks later its half empty. Keep adding stuff and there is always room for more.

After a couple of years i expect it to be the best compost ever.

kyleleonard

Mulch or put down plastic sheeting (they'll get through fabric)

There's actually a plant you can buy called 'green manure' which will kill any weed at the roots, and its goodness is under the soil, so when you're ready to use the bed, just dig it into the soil and leave it for a free weeks and you have some very nutritious soil!

"A green manure is a crop grown to improve the soil. With rising nitrogen prices and an ever-increasing requirement to farm in an environmentally sustainable way, green manures are fast becoming a viable way to cut input costs, add fertility and improve the soil"

can pick some up for as little as £1.58 on Ebay;
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Green-Manure-Forage-Rye-50g-Quality-Seeds-/230673509214?pt=UK_HomeGarden_Garden_PlantsSeedsBulbs_JN&hash=item35b5366b5e#ht_500wt_715

Good luck!

sirbrainy

kyleleonard wrote: »

There's actually a plant you can buy called 'green manure' which will kill any weed at the roots

you might want to say it a different way?

kyleleonard

sirbrainy wrote: »

That's pure b@llox mate, you might want to say it a different way?

How's it ''b@llox'', you do realise most professional gardeners use this when their plots aren't being used to surppress weeds? So I think you should keep your "b@llox'' opinion to yourself.

Also b@llox = Batllox, fyi.

----
Weed control
Green manures help to control weeds. Bare soil can become quickly
overgrown with weeds which can be difficult to remove. Green manures
cover the ground well and stop weeds growing beneath them, by competing
for nutrients, space and light.
--

S@uk it ''mate'' :beer:

kizkiz

It's not actually a plant called green manure. There are many plants you can use as a green manure. They will eventually get dug back into the ground when finished growing and help to lock in the nutrients. I believe rye is one of the more popular plants used for green manure.

forgotmyname

Green manure doesnt kill weeds, In open unused ground the weeds have no competition.

Planting green manure crowds out the weeds and blocks them, It wont stop them fully. Still needs weeding at 1st to help the green manure to get a stronghold.

Patchwork_Quilt

What I did with my new allotment was a mixture of digging up, weedkiller and covering the ground. You may have to accept that in the first year, you may need to use weedkiller. However, depending on time, you could just dig out the top layer of turf and turn over what remains underneath, taking out any roots you can find. You then need to either keep an eye on it or cover it over until you can use it. If you have a large plot, covering the ground after weedkiller (or instead if you are fussy about using it) will kill whatever is left underneath from lack of light and then, if it has been left long enough, you can just dig it over.

Another tip would be to work out where your compost bins are going and get twice as many as you think you will need. I would do this before you start digging.