Any Easy Way to Get Rid of Large Area of Plants?

anotheruser

Is there an easy way to get rid or a large area of grass, weeds, plants...

I want to create a veg patch, but apart from digging it all up manually, I have no idea how else to do it.

I did think over the winter to pin a large tarpaulin to the ground to starve whatever underneath of light but couldn't find one cheap enough - links to any would be great.

Area is about 5 metres square.

Thanks

Owain_Moneysaver

Unless you know anyone with a couple of pigs, hire a rotavator.

I_have_spoken

Glyphosate

Ectophile

You could buy a jumbo roll of black bin bags, and unroll it along the ground. Weigh it down with whatever comes to hand.

Or just glyphosate everything and wait a few weeks for the weedkiller to neutralise in the soil. Unlike other chemicals, it's not particularly persistent in the soil.

I'd be wary of a rotorvator unless you're sure there are none of the pernicious weeds that can regrow from just a little chunk of root. If you're not careful, you could just end up spreading the weeds around even more.

freezspirit

Lasagna Garden might be worth looking into

robrooo

Some more ideas:
Cover with old carpet and wait a year.
Build raised bed(s) over the area.
Weed Burner X300 Flame Gun.

ukmaggie45

Ectophile wrote: »

I'd be wary of a rotorvator unless you're sure there are none of the pernicious weeds that can regrow from just a little chunk of root. If you're not careful, you could just end up spreading the weeds around even more.

I second this warning. If you have couch grass you definitely don't want to chop that up or you'll have an amazing crop of it! :eek: We got an allotment last summer, and it was covered in couch grass. The roots go surprisingly deep too - parts of our lottie have had pits dug around 2 foot deep to try and trace the origin of the roots, but even so haven't managed to get to it. We don't use chemicals, so not an option for us. But deep digging and chasing the roots has improved our plot a lot so far... Just waiting to see what comes up when the weather warms up! :eek: But if we'd rotivated I think we'd just have a lawn (of kinds) by now! :rotfl:

System

USAF found that napalm or agent orange worked well

Davesnave

I think you, and we, need more information.

5 x 5 m isn't a 'large area' to some of us, but it would be a decent veg patch. If you want veg this summer, it's too late to stick something over it to exclude light and if you are dealing with brambles or couch, that isn't going to work, even if you do it for a year! They will come back!

I would just start digging, ID what's there (there's the entire resources of the Internet available) and decide on a strategy.

If you are really dealing with pernicious weeds like ground elder, couch, bramble and deep nettles or docks, one pass with glyphosate will help, but it won't finish the job.

In those circumstances I would just carry on digging, hitting anything that dared to come back after I'd been through with spot treatments.

If you want to go organic, digging or waiting a bloody long time after you've found that carpet, tarpaulin etc are your two weed free options, or you can go really beard and sandals and simply 'live with your weeds!'

Rotor

I use cardboard boxes on my veg plot and it works a treat.You may think some weeds may penetrate it but be assured they don't - even nettles and couch grass.
Ask at the local florist as most of their boxes don't have the plastic tape to close them.
You can also plant through the cardboard if you want to grow things.


You need to hold it down with something - I use grass clipping or wood chip, but compost or a little soil would do.


The only downside I've found is that it provides a lovely home for slugs so they become more of a problem.

DigForVictory

Cardboard boxes (the George at Asda ones are great - big, thick & free for the asking) under a layer of bark chippings - which are 'way more economical bought by the metric ton than in neat bags. More "green gym" too!

When my sons are full of energy, & I'm not, I turn them loose with entrenching tools/mattocks & compete for the biggest heap of rocks and/or the biggest tarp area of weeds. (The winner gets to pick the toppings on the pizza.)