Clearing a New Allotment -
How to Clear a New
Allotment
The chances are that the previous tenant decided to leave at the end
of summer and you get the plot some months later when a great crop of
weeds have covered it.
So where to start?
First thing to do is take a look at what weeds are growing. Nettles,
docks, buttercups and daisy all indicate that your soil is acidic. Docks
love damp conditions. Mares or Horses Tail (Equistum Arvense) also likes
acidic soil.
You will now have an idea of what your soil is like. Weeds are a good
indication of soil fertility. Lush tall weeds indicate good fertility.
Pretty obvious really.
What not to do
I have seen a few people take on a plot covered in docks and happily
run a rotovator over it. The perennial weeds will grow from a root fragment
and so chopping them up and tilling the soil is a great way to propagate
them and ensure you have a plot absolutely covered in weeds a few weeks
later. At this point some give up the plot!
What to do to Clear the Plot
Chemical Gardeners
Spray the plot with Roundup or suchlike, wait for the weeds to die and
then rotovate. Sounds pretty simple, certainly less
effort but you need to trust the chemical companies
information and do not mind growing food on the soil
you just sprayed with complex chemicals.
Organic Gardeners
Hard work awaits you! First decide how much time and energy you have.
There is no way I could clear a plot in one go or even one week. You can
cover sections of the plot with thick plastic, carpets or tarpaulins (if
you have them) and this will hold back growth until you can get to the
section. If you leave an area covered for a year or so then most of the
weeds will die.
Personally I do not want areas out of production that long so I just
use covering as a holding method.
Now take a small section at a time, looking down 100 feet of weeds is
enough to make anyone despair. I found 6 feet patches (15 feet wide) to
be about right but those younger and fitter can do more.
Start by taking off the surface grasses and short rooted weeds with
a spade – the resulting ‘turfs’ can be stacked to eventually
form a loam. The deeper rooted perennials (like docks) need their roots
digging out. These are the devil to deal with.
I just added them to a cool compost heap and they
happily grew on You
can try chopping them (to weaken them) and add them
to a hot compost heap. Other methods which do
work are drowning in a barrel of water for 3
weeks or tying up in a plastic bin bag for a few months.
Having completed clearing, I then dig over with a fork. The purpose
is to break up the soil and extract any weed roots. Watch out for bindweed – this
is one that spreads from a small bit of root. A small stem is probably
growing from a foot of tubular white root snaking along a few inches below
the surface.
One exception to the rule is Mares Tail or Horse Tail. This wonderful
weed has roots that go down to hades, well 1.5 metres
anyway. The only thing I know to kill them is ammonium
sulphamate, a weedkiller often sold for brushwood clearance.
The problem with this is that you can not plant for
8 to 12 weeks after use. It's not approved for organic
growers but it is a very safe and simple herbicide.
There's more information in Weeds & What to Do
Moving along
As you clear a patch, consult your overall plan and prepare the ground
accordingly. If it’s getting late in the season then consider a
green manure. As you get towards the end of your plot you will probably
find weeds sprouting behind you. They never stop! Most of these will be
annual weeds whose seeds have been germinated by your clearance exposing
them. Don’t worry – you can just hoe them off.
Related Pages to Clearing an Allotment Plot:
|
