weed conrol help

[simoncpg]

this is my second year growing veg. Because of family problems I could not give the plot the attention it deserved and so is now full of weeds. I have taken out all the raised beds and intend to rotsvate it. My questions are;
When should I rotavete and what is the best way to kill of as many weeds before say this May.
Thank you in anticipation.
Simon

[jacob marley]

As soon as the ground is dry enough and then do it again a fortnight later...jacob

[Pumpkin Becki]

simon, it does depend what sort of weed we're talking about here, and if you want to do it the easy way or the hard way.

The easy way - cover the open ground with black plastic or cardboard and a thick mulch of compost. This is best on light annual weeds, as tougher perrenials like nettle and bindweed probably won't have rotted down enough by the time you want to cultivate in May.

The hard way - digging, lots of digging at two or three week intervals so that you get each flush of growth as it comes through. Some weeds like bindweed and dandilion propogate by root division, so you have to make sure every last scrap of root is out of the ground before you rotovate - otherwise you're just spreading it round your plot. It does help to cover your dug ground inbetween each digging session, this will stop new weeds seeding themselves.

[snuffer]

Hiya simoncpg and welcome to the vine. If you have a lot of bind weed or couch grass on the plot rotovating it could well make things worse. All the chopped up pieces of root can become new plants.

I would decide on the area that you want cleared and ready to use first and then set to digging it over and clearing all the weed roots out as you go. A long and laborious job but well worth the effort.

For the rest of the plot (and there will be many that dissagree with me) I would use a glyphosate based weedkiller. Even if you intend being totally organic in the future a well timed application of weedkiller can save you a lot of work. It would be best to wait until spring when the weeds are actively growing as this is the best stage of their development to effectively kill them. Make sure you choose a wind free day so as to avoid any drift from your spraying getting on to other plots or any crops on your own plot. One good tip is to add a red food dye to the weedkiller so that you can monitor exactly where it is going. Another one would be to have a watering can of clean water on standby so that if you do mistakenly spray something you'd rather have not you can quickly rinse it off.

[simoncpg]

This is what I thought,but i have a very large plot. It sounds daunting.

[Pumpkin Becki]

This is what I thought,but i have a very large plot. It sounds daunting.

Don't feel you have to turn over your whole plot at once simon, its probably the biggest newbie mistake.

Take an area you know you can cultivate and plant within the space of a couple of weeks, say 1m x 2m. Dig that over, plant/sew it, label it, and then when thats done, think 'Do I need more space?' Inevitably your answer will be yes, and at that stage you can look at opening another bed, or extend the existing one. If you get carried away and open up your whole plot in the beginning, you'll spend all your lottie time weeding rather than sewing, planting and enjoying your plot.

And lets face it, its supposed to be enjoyable isn't it, not a chore!

[geoff]

Rotovating is best kept for an established garden or plot that is already substantially weed - free. If you rotovate a weedy plot it looks great for 2 or 3 weeks, then the weeds grow back, often worse than before. I know this because that's what I did when I got my first allotment 4 or 5 years ago.
And rotovating isn't that easy to do, you need practice. Rotovating will also chop up the worms, if you dig with a fork they have a good chance of escaping, and just falling back to the soil

It has probably taken a long time to get weedy, so don't expect to clear it in a couple of weekends. I would decide on a small area, say a quarter or a third of your plot and really concentrate on clearing that by digging, and settle for planting that this year, ie spring

For the rest, use a method to at least control or reduce them. Such as hacking down and covering with black plastic, or newspaper topped with manure. Or giving a dose of glyphosphate weedkiller as above

Then you have the rest of the year to clear the remainder of the plot at a civilised rate. Think of this year as preparation for a good effort next year

I arranged for my own delivery of manure, a whole trailer load on the corner of my plot. It was free from a local stables, they were glad to get rid of it. I then spread that on newspaper and cardboard. I didn't stop the weeds, but it slowed them down so I could clear them at my own speed. It also had the advantage that it was all free, and could just be dug in
If your plot has been neglected it could probably do with a good dose of manure anyway

[sweetiepea]

Take a section at a time! Follow PB's advice and cover the ground you are not using immediately, then concentrate on one area at a time and clear thoroughly. Personally I like to hand weed to ensure I remove as many weed roots as possible - especially nettle and couch grass - my tormentors! Having said that though, I do, on occasion, use a glyphosate based weedkiller, but only on 'jungle' areas which I leave for a few weeks, then hand weed new growth and roots.

There's no quick fix I'm afraid, but starting early in the year can make a huge difference! Don't rotovate until you are sure any pernicious roots have been removed.

[Two_Sheds]

As the others have said already, empty ground will soon be colonised by weeds.

Keeping the ground covered (with crops, a mulch or a green manure) will cut down the amount of weeding you have to do.

[simoncpg]

on investigation most of the ground looks to be covered with normal grass, and rotting old veg stalks. It really is a massive area to dig. But I would have liked to have it all ready for april time.

[jacob marley]

[QUOTE=Two_Sheds;594960]As the others have said already, empty ground will soon be colonised by weeds.


That is why i said and a fortnight later or even three weeks and the weeds if any grow will pull out easier from soft rotovated soil good luck..jacob

[Snadger]

on investigation most of the ground looks to be covered with normal grass, and rotting old veg stalks. It really is a massive area to dig. But I would have liked to have it all ready for april time.

If you start digging NOW it will be ready for April. With digging you can take pernicious roots out and start with a relatively clean seed bed in spring.
With a rotavator you will chop up all the roots and it will look pretty for a week or two until they all grow back again.................but tenfold.

Do what you feel you have to do, but don't say you weren't warned!

[Two_Sheds]

It really is a massive area to dig. But I would have liked to have it all ready for april time.

I think it's a bloke thing, wanting the whole plot to be clean, clear brown soil: a clean sheet. It doesn't stay that way though. All the millions of weed seeds in the soil are just waiting to be brought to the surface where the light can germinate them.

As Snadge says, do what you feel is best.