New Allotment

redser7

Just got an allotment - happy days.
Went up to see it last night. It hasn't been worked in a couple of years I would say and is pretty rough - weeds, caked hard soil etc.

What would you say is the best approach to start bringing it back? Was thinking of covering it in small section to kill off growth. Plan to do it in small sections over the next 2 or 3 years. It's a busy time of life with small kids!

I'm resigned to growing nothing on it until next spring. It is 10m X 10m.

Also heard that growing green manure would be a good way to start it off. Any suggestions on that?

Any advise at all welcome.

Thanks

Corsendonk

redser7 wrote: »

Just got an allotment - happy days.
Went up to see it last night. It hasn't been worked in a couple of years I would say and is pretty rough - weeds, caked hard soil etc.

What would you say is the best approach to start bringing it back? Was thinking of covering it in small section to kill off growth. Plan to do it in small sections over the next 2 or 3 years. It's a busy time of life with small kids!

I'm resigned to growing nothing on it until next spring. It is 10m X 10m.

Also heard that growing green manure would be a good way to start it off. Any suggestions on that?

Any advise at all welcome.

Thanks

Roundup, then clear off the dead material, borrow a rotavator to break it up and if you want a green manure try something like clover. Some apple orchards use it as a green manure between the trees.

Alternatively the ground might be in better nick than you think and you could try planting some low maintance crops this year. Try a small crop of spuds or you can build a quick "A" frame using long bamboon canes and cable ties in 30 mins and plant runner and french beans at the base. I would grow from seed at home until a foot tall and plant out at the base of the "A" frame and just tie string from the plant to the top of the "A" frame. The beanswill help fix nitrogen in the ground. Courgettes are low maintaince too if you dig a decent amount of manure in the ground before planting. Only real work after that is coming down to water on the dry weeks or harvesting.

noworries

For a 10m x 10m allotment - you just need to;

a) clear it of any rubbish from the last user
b) hire or borrow a strimmer , and strim all the weeds to the ground
c) dig with a digging fork all the perrenial roots from the ground.. being meticulous
d) dig it again
e) rake to a fine tilth
f) plant some plants that you can buy in the garden centres
g)look at the back of seeds packets and realise that you can sow planty of salads, lettuces, cabbages, cauliflowers, carrots, beetroot

Start tomorrow and you should be complete by the end of the month just going up on Saturdays and Sundays. - it is just a bit of hard work:)

If you get help and can get up during the week - no reason not to be getting stuff into the ground next weekend

Corsendonk

noworries wrote: »

For a 10m x 10m allotment - you just need to;

a) clear it of any rubbish from the last user
b) hire or borrow a strimmer , and strim all the weeds to the ground
c) dig with a digging fork all the perrenial roots from the ground.. being meticulous
d) dig it again
e) rake to a fine tilth
f) plant some plants that you can buy in the garden centres
g)look at the back of seeds packets and realise that you can sow planty of salads, lettuces, cabbages, cauliflowers, carrots, beetroot

Start tomorrow and you should be complete by the end of the month just going up on Saturdays and Sundays. - it is just a bit of hard work:)

If you get help and can get up during the week - no reason not to be getting stuff into the ground next weekend

Not so keen on that one myself, more potential for bringing pest and diseases from outside. Best to grow from seed if you can.

noworries

Corsendonk wrote: »

Not so keen on that one myself, more potential for bringing pest and diseases from outside. Best to grow from seed if you can.

Did you read the OP ?

Went up to see it last night. It hasn't been worked in a couple of years I would say and is pretty rough - weeds, caked hard soil etc.

A couple of plants from the garden centre is hardly going to introduce anything worse than is there already..unless the plants come from
Fukoshima Bonsai Nurserries

Corsendonk

noworries wrote: »

Did you read the OP ?

Went up to see it last night. It hasn't been worked in a couple of years I would say and is pretty rough - weeds, caked hard soil etc.

A couple of plants from the garden centre is hardly going to introduce anything worse than is there already..unless the plants come from
Fukoshima Bonsai Nurserries

Yes I did actually read the post thank you, soil doesn't cake that hard underneath the top layer unless its been used as a parking spot for heavy machinery for the last two years. Sounds like its just a clay soil site. Rotavator should break it up easily

I know of one garden centre near me that has an issue with vine weevil the last number of years. You have less control over how healthy the plant is when you buy it from a garden centre not to forget the garden centre markup.

noworries

Corsendonk wrote: »

Yes I did actually read the post thank you, soil doesn't cake that hard underneath the top layer unless its been used as a parking spot for heavy machinery for the last two years. Sounds like its just a clay soil site. Rotavator should break it up easily

I know of one garden centre near me that has an issue with vine weevil the last number of years. You have less control over how healthy the plant is when you buy it from a garden centre not to forget the garden centre markup.

The 'read the post remark' should have been accompanied with the wink smilie - no offense intended.

Point taken in relation to controling the health of the plant by sowing from seed - but who is to say what 'surprises' the OP's allotment
has in store for them.

I buy a couple of plants ( courgettes mainly) each year as I always forget to sow them. And sure, 3 plants keeps us (and the neighbours) in full supply - but I look after them as I would my other plants and if I notice any problems I deal with them
- you pays your money and you takes your chances

Garden centre markup is an entirely seperate discussion.

Perennial weeds and rotovators are not a match made in heaven and I can never recommend them in the process of clearing an allotment.
Too often I have seen the enthusiastic beginner rotovating ,only to find their plot covered in the same type of perennial weeds a
couple of months later, to eventually give up until the next beginner comes in and starts the process again.

OP, enjoy your allotment - a few weeks of hard work and you will be well set to enjoy a long summer and autumn of bounty from your plot.

Anyway, it's that time of the day again - time to head for home and an hour later off to the plot.
Whatever the weather this weekend-enjoy your garden

redser7

Thanks a lot

Hauk

I think I can talk about this one.

Like, the op, just this year I got a 10m x 10m allotment. As they are new allotments, it was previously a field that hadn't had anything growing in it for years. I'm no way near finished getting setup, but I'm slowly getting there.

Here's how I did it:

1) Cleared the area of all rocks and loose rubbish that had blown onto it.
2) Pulled any weeds and other random stuff that was growing in it.
3) Marked it out into six sections with a path down the middle.
4) This was the most back breaking bit. Pick a section and just start forking it over. I was getting huge clumps coming up and breaking them down is a nightmare. I'm still not finished this bit.
5)Levelled off two of the sections and broke down the soil as much as I could. I then formed rows with the soil and planted early spuds. I think I've 8 rows at the minute.

6) Bought a shed
7) Bought a tonne of soil enricher and have started digging that in.

It's still a WIP, but it's getting there.

Any questions on what I've done so far, ask away!

redser7

Thanks Hauk, I'm sure I will.

paddy147

Gather up lots of seaweed off the beaches and place it on the soil in your allotment.

Its GREAT for the soil.:)

You can also hire out a 10 horsepower petrol powered rotivator for around 40 euro a day from most hire shops.

Gavin

If you aren't doing anything with it until next spring then cover it with sheeting or newspaper or old carpet. This will help to kill off weeds. Then before winter really arrives hire a rotovator and rotovate the patch. Leave it uncovered over the winter and the frost should kill off most of the remaining weeds.

Then next year either go for the expensive, but less work in the long run, of raised beds or just plant straight. Raised beds are a lot easier.

redser7

Thanks lads.
I think that's what I'll do Gavin. I read that rotivating growing weeds can just multiply them. I have time on my side so I think I'll just cover almost the whole thing for a few months and dig over a small section now to give my back a stretch and get some winter veg down.
What time of year would you put seaweed on the soil Paddy?
Cheers

paddy147

Mixed in manure and seaweed last autumn to let it break down over last winter.Brilliant for the allotment soil.:D

Seaweed is low in phosphates,so add in some phosphorus and you will have great quality soil for growing.

yellowlabrador

another alternative is to start some no dig veg patches. cover grass, weeds etc with organic material ie grassclippings, compostable stuff shredded paper, anything you'd put on a compost heap. cover with cardboard. make holes in cardboard and plant a few potatoes, broccoli etc in holes. keep adding compostable material round plants and by next year you'll have some lovely beds. after that it's just a question of adding compostable material and compost from your compost heap. It work, especially in places with poor compacted soil. When I moved into my house, The previous owner had laid down plastic bags and covered them with about a foot of gravel. Before I moved in, they 'relandscaped' by putting another foot of stoney subsoil covered by poor, yellow looking grass. I was in tears, despairing, thinking i'd never grow anything. Not a worm to be found, and horrible soil. I painstakingly dug out every bag and them proceeded as above and within 1 year, the soil became crumbly and filled with worms. After that no problems even though the soil is still gravelly.
If you are going to dig, remove the grass sods, and stack up upside down, next year you'll have some lovely loam.

Sedum and Sage

yellowlabrador wrote: »

another alternative is to start some no dig veg patches. cover grass, weeds etc with organic material ie grassclippings, compostable stuff shredded paper, anything you'd put on a compost heap. cover with cardboard. make holes in cardboard and plant a few potatoes, broccoli etc in holes. keep adding compostable material round plants and by next year you'll have some lovely beds. after that it's just a question of adding compostable material and compost from your compost heap. It work, especially in places with poor compacted soil. When I moved into my house, The previous owner had laid down plastic bags and covered them with about a foot of gravel. Before I moved in, they 'relandscaped' by putting another foot of stoney subsoil covered by poor, yellow looking grass. I was in tears, despairing, thinking i'd never grow anything. Not a worm to be found, and horrible soil. I painstakingly dug out every bag and them proceeded as above and within 1 year, the soil became crumbly and filled with worms. After that no problems even though the soil is still gravelly.
If you are going to dig, remove the grass sods, and stack up upside down, next year you'll have some lovely loam.

This is more or less what I did, we started with a field of bramble, nettle, scutch etc, strimmed it a couple of times, covered it with a thick layer of newspaper or cardboard (I actually think the newspaper is better if you use enough of it) and then covered that with about 6 inches of mushroom compost. The following spring we planted courgettes, beans, spinach and salads directly into the compost, without disturbing the paper. We couldn't grow root vegetables for the 1st season, everything else seemed quite happy. If you can get your hands on a load of mushroom compost I would recommend this method, our soil is beautiful now, with hardly any perennial weeds.

karlitob

redser7 wrote: »

Thanks lads.
I think that's what I'll do Gavin. I read that rotivating growing weeds can just multiply them. I have time on my side so I think I'll just cover almost the whole thing for a few months and dig over a small section now to give my back a stretch and get some winter veg down.
What time of year would you put seaweed on the soil Paddy?
Cheers

Hey,

Just doing the house up and have quite a lot of carpet if you need it.

Thanks

G.

redser7

Thanks for the offer but I'm sorted now.

Zuiderzee

redser7 wrote: »

What time of year would you put seaweed on the soil?
Cheers

Traditionally January, after the december storms.
Main thing is dig, let the Noveber/Deceber frost work for you in breaking up the soil, Just turn it over in clods and expose as much as you can.

I started my garden from scratch on very overgrown, tough soil two years ago, but it is well worth doing.

Use nematodes to kill off parasites rather than poisons

redser7

Thanks again

Theprogardener

Fastest, easiest and the least back breaking answer.
If you wish to keep it organic.
Get a professional landscaper to do it.
Cut grass and remove, no need to get it to ground level.
Go over ground with stone burier... one in action on link
http://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&v=FSq3MQ7_Qmw
Cost, depending on how far one has to travel.. about €200.00 plus vat.
The advantage is all the sod is broken up, stones & sod are buried under a layer of fine soil and all the hard work is taken out of the job.
You can add compost and the stone burier will mix it perfectly.
100 square meters is a big area to dig by hand!

(Non Organic Answer, spray off ground with round-up which will kill all the grass and weeds, repeat above)

Corsendonk

Theprogardener wrote: »

Fastest, easiest and the least back breaking answer.
If you wish to keep it organic.
Get a professional landscaper to do it.
Cut grass and remove, no need to get it to ground level.
Go over ground with stone burier... one in action on link
http://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&v=FSq3MQ7_Qmw
Cost, depending on how far one has to travel.. about €200.00 plus vat.
The advantage is all the sod is broken up, stones & sod are buried under a layer of fine soil and all the hard work is taken out of the job.
You can add compost and the stone burier will mix it perfectly.
100 square meters is a big area to dig by hand!

(Non Organic Answer, spray off ground with round-up which will kill all the grass and weeds, repeat above)

Judging by the vid it doesn't bury all stones, see the large stone shooting out the back half way in

Theprogardener

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eclzzQZQfRg&feature
Its a stone burier, not a rock burier , anyway it will do the job, the one on link above is same as one we use. There is a packer roller on the back. The one in the previous link was for seed bed.
If you wish to do it your self, good luck..

Zuiderzee

Forgot to say - and I've said it before - for breaking up new ground without breaking your back - try a Chillington Hoe - Best tool I have in the armoury against Connemaras rough earth

alexanderomahon

In same situation as op , but out in Skerries. I have read that covering the plot with black plastic sheeting for a few months is a good way to go, with perhaps pulling back the sheet and working on small bits as the weeks pass.

Would people on here agree with this approach and if so anybody know where I can get suitable sheeting?

Gavin

Did this on our plot to get rid of weeds in between raised beds. It works well, just need to have the plastic well pinned down. We bought a large roll of builders plastic in Heiton Buckley and it did the job.

redser7

Yes builders providers is the place to get it - 3.5 M x 20 M for about 20 euro. Treat it well and it can be reused again. I'm reusing some for covering my raised beds for winter and will use it to warm them up in spring.