Am I doing this right?

[Sue]

Judi
I still have a way to go with my raised bed plans and what with the projected fruit cage doubt if I'll get dug into them this year so I was going to put down some "temporary" ones using this method, I think I'd strip the grass off and put that on one side to rot down but don't know maybe you don't have to??
Anyway when I do get around to digging them properly I'd sieve the earth to make sure all the roots are gone.
I also need to make sure there are no nasties in the ground like glass, bits of plastic, plastic netting, old ironmongery, bricks etc, there was a very messy owner of this allotment before me.
Good luck with your raised beds. Do you live in France permanently? is it very different for growing?
Sue

[*Feather*]

Sue
Silly question... How would you sieve the earth? I've got lots of bindweed in my plot. Would it be easier than digging and removing the roots manually?

[WiZeR]

feather, sieving the soil is more work than digging and manually removing. It is, however, more comprehensive. You'd need to dig each spade full into a metal gardening sieve, then shake it until the soil breaks up and the stones and roots are left in the sieve. This will provide you with a fantastic soil structure but is a lot of work. I did it last year for my carrots.

[*Feather*]

Thanks WiZeR. It does sound like a lot of work, but I might try it with one of my beds and compare the results with the bindweed coming back.

[Earthbabe]

The beds look fantastic Wizer. Much congrats. They put my efforts to shame.

[Sue]

Feather
My allotment was covered with couch grass, dock, dandelions etc, having a bad back found it much easier if not time consuming to sit and sieve the weeds out of the earth, this also caught a lot of nasties like wireworms, bits of glass etc. You have to be careful with the sieving though so as not to harm the earthworms. I have had the odd bit of grass grow back and dormant seeds have grown up so still have to have lengthy weeding sessions.
The only other problem is only being able to do it when the ground is dry enough
Sue

[dexterdoglancashire]

Wizer - what a fantastic job you've done!! If you are in the Preston area within the next few weeks, do let me know - I will pay you a good rate per hour!
Seriously though, I used a sieve in my back garden (eventually!) and although I thought that maybe I was doing a bit too far - it paid dividends in the end. (Perviously having dug up the 10year old grass, doggy doo etc!)
I'm aiming to do the same on my lottie. Just at the first, digging over stage at the moment! Need a new sieve though! DDL

[snohare]

Wow, this thread brings back memories. My father once gave me the task of digging out the weeds on an old railway embankment adjoining our house. It had every weed known to man on or in it; creeping buttercup, couch grass, bindweed, thistles, nettles, brambles, snowberries...have you ever tried to remove snowberries ?! The roots can go down ten metres....
A daunting task for any man suffering from chronic fatigue syndrome.
In the end, I dug over and terraced it all, sieving the soil as I went.(And flamethrowering the berries. ) I soon discovered that having a wee timber box frame to hang the sieve from on bungee hooks, so that I could just shovel and swing, was by far the easiest way to go. A plastic tray or sheet beneath that could be pulled away with the good soil on it, and a large container/wheelbarrow for the rubbish, is all you need to keep going for hours. The soil that came out of the sieve was beautiful, a prefect tilth - I'll bet it would do just great for carrots.
The embankment is a great garden now, pity we moved house before my Dad ever planted anything.
Good soil is everything, you will never regret effort spent improving it - unless you move !

[WiZeR]

I like the bungee cord idea. Might have to adapt that!

[Two_Sheds]

WiZer, Have you read a book called Lasagna Gardening? by Patricia Lanza. Try your library, its good no-dig method for building up layers of compost for raised beds