Grow Your Own Magazine

Ive just picked up the keys for my new lotty.
Its not been youched for 6 months or so, so the top is covered in what looks like grass!!! not too many weeds, just a few dandilions. Ive dug over a little just to get some runners up.

My help is do I cover most of the plot with plastic, then rotavate later, or just go ahead and rotavate it now, so I can get more in the ground now??

The ground is a mixture of clay with little loomy bits but too hard/heavy to do by hand concidering I suffer with bad back!!

Thanks in advance

Mike

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It might be wise to investigate what the grass is first...
If it's couch then rotavating would simply chop the roots into hundreds of new plants which would be very bad news, if it's just grass then rotavating could be the way forwards!
Couch roots are brittle white 'spagetti' which regrow from the smallest piece (Sure you already know that!). They would have to be removed by hand - each root!
If it's just grass then I'd rotavate then cover with plastic...and not stress too much about getting it all done soon - a few good crops would be better than lots of poor ones.

Make sure you remove the dandelions as well, making sure you get every bit of the root as it will grow back from bits left behind. It's tedious but worth it

Phil

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I have just taken an allotment over has well. mine had a few weeds but i have cleared what i need and covered the rest until autumn when the weeds have died off. I will not use a rotavator though has i think this just puts the weed back in the ground, i will use a fork and take weeds out by hand. hope this helps.

I've just got a lottie too and it was totally overgrown with couch grass, nettles, thistles, brambles, goose grass and other stuff I've not yet identified!! I've cleared a small bit at the top end by digging all the weeds out (well I hope I got em all!!) so I can get bits planted for this year. I asked our site rep for advice on what to do with the rest of the plot as its totally overgrown and I've decided to spray it with weedkiller, then I'm planning on covering it all up with black plastic and just uncover a bit at a time and get that bit workable Good luck with yours

just clear a small bit for now and plant some veg , then plan ahead for the winter and mark your plot into 4 areas and set work on one at a time . I have had mine for two years and am only planting on about half of it and working on the rest in my own slow time

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