Plot woes

[I'm doing this now!]

My new plot is taking shape with 2 greenhouses sited and paths in place. The remaining veg plot (24'x20') has 2 items to stay on it. An old Anderson shelter doubling as a big compost bin (4wx2hx8l) and an old raggedy unknown variety of eating apple. The rest appears to be a combination of elder, bramble and "old mans beard" to the north edge fence which i will be hand removing as i need to dig a new fence trench. The rest is a mass of grass and other unwanted weeds. The grass, i believe, is mostly "couch". I want to clear as much of the usable space in time for spring. I have a choice of rotavator or fork to use. Q is...... should i consider machine or man power with a fork? I am dreading having to dig this area but having done a little YouTube research it appears the manual way is the only way. Thoughts please and no chemicals .
Edit. I have just briefly looked at "glyphosphate" weed killer. which suggests 14 days and then plant veg. I have not looked in depth to this and have never sprayed or used any chemicals on my original plot.

[burnie]

I would ask myself this question, do I really want to risk eating poison?
If you rotavate couch grass roots, you will most likely just create more plants, removing by hand is the best method. But you don't have to all of it one go, you could plant potatoes

[I'm doing this now!]

Burnie,
Poison?? Is that referring to the glyphosphate?
Planting pots, Will they prevent / deter couch grass.

[Peanut]

You could give no dig a try. Simply place a layer of cardboard over the areas you want to clear and cover it with a few inches of compost. Everything beneath it will die off and you can begin planting as soon as you wish. If you're not going to be planting immediately, then just weigh the cardboard down with bricks or the like until you're ready.

I've used no dig for years and it really does work and is great for soil health. Charles Dowding is the man who championed this.

Good luck with whichever option you choose

[Mark Rand]

I know people get upset about Glyphosate, but it's a blooming sight safer than just about any other weedkiller (Yes, including vinegar!).

Other than that. Yes, don't rotavate the couch grass in, you'd never be rid of it, and it doesn't make a very good lawn. Forking the stolons out works, but it's a continual process, since it only takes a little bit to start a new plant. The good news is that the stolons are normally very shallow.

Finally, none of the weedkillers would do much good at this time of year. The couch isn't growing, which they need, just hanging on in this weather. The fork and rake can still pull it out of the ground even when it isn't growing!

[rary]

I dont use glyphosate as it can stay in your soil for several months, having once used horse manure which had straw through it which had been sprayed with a weedkiller which had glyphosate as the main ingredient, this led to poor crops with distorted growth, so have never used it after that, if it can distort plant growth what other harm can it do I must stress that this is my personal opinion, other may disagree.
Personally I would dig over the ground with a fork removing as much root system as I could then cover with cardboard you could plant through the cardboard or as has been suggested cover with compost and plant into this, but remember to soak the cardboard well before covering

[I'm doing this now!]

I have sited 2 green houses to the east of the new veg plot. The area for the greenhouses is 17' x 26' and was"cultivated" to a degree. This area was recently dug over with fork and i have over half of a ton bag of couch grass and roots from that area alone. Bit of bind weed too. I am a big fan of freshly dug soil, but the prospect of couch chasing over such a large area is daunting. This new plot has not been cultivated in any way for decades and the only "work" done on it is several mows a year. Then there is also the disposal. I have 3 composting areas but with the potential of such a large quantity am I taking a chance on regrowth if adding it to compost heaps? I also have no means of "green recycling" is it best to dig up and just leave to fester in the ton bag(s)? I can find the space for this coming season . Probably swaying towards the dig method at this time but not ruling out chems or cover.

[Snoop Puss]

Sounds like covering the grass and killing or at least weakening it by means of light starvation might be a good approach.

With regard to glyphosate, I used a non-branded version quite a few years back on a patch that sounds just like yours, but with deep-rooted chicory (flowers, not edible) and wild herb fennel in addition. It was effective, but with a huge drawback. The following spring I had dire germination of anything and everything direct sown. I checked this out and came across Canadian research confirming that glyphosate had this effect in their trials. I know it's not supposed to leave a residue but break down completely, but this was my experience and seems to have been replicated in scientific tests.

If you're going to start everything as plug plants, perhaps it won't matter.

[Penellype]

A few years ago I took over a plot that was covered in weeds, including an infestation of horsetail which was dormant at the time. It is very daunting and hard to know where to start. The first thing I did was cut everything down to ground level so I could cover it. I used weed matting, you could use large sheets of cardboard if you prefer. This cuts out the light which effectively stops things growing back and new weeds germinating.

The next step was to decide where my beds were going to go and create paths in between. I dug small areas, a bed at a time or less, removing as much horsetail and couch root as I could find. Once dug, I never stood on the bed areas, covering them up again. Any bits of perennial weed that grew were then easy to pull out because the soil was loose from the digging. I still had to dig bits out of the paths, but it was a lot easier than trying to dig and re-dig huge areas.

I didn't get rid of all the horsetail - it is almost impossible to eradicate as it roots very deep, but it is hugely weakened. With persistence you should be able to get rid of the much shallower rooted couch. The main thing is not to think of it as one huge problem, but as smaller, more manageable bits. Covering it up stops it becoming a never ending impossible task.

Regarding potatoes - no they won't prevent couch grass, which will grow through almost anything (I have seen it grow through the middle of large tarmac chippings), but potatoes have dense foliage which will go some way towards smothering it and will give you a crop despite competition from the grass.

Good luck with it.

[rary]

Dont put couch grass nor bind weed into a compost bin the best way to kill of the roots is to put it into a bin of water for several months, there will be nutriants in the water from the weeds so could be used as a feed, as you dont have the facility for recycling you could always burn the weeds,

Just to add do you know that couch grass is a herb, so you could always use it as a crop, then if your gardening skills are anything like mine its sure to die off

[mothhawk]

Get yourself one of these blue barrels, and as Rary says, fill it with water and put all the roots in. they will gradually rot down and you can keep adding to it. You can take out a bucket of nutrient rich water every so often to feed plants and replace with fresh water. The lid will keep any pong down and prevent animals and birds falling in.

[I'm doing this now!]

Thanks for the replies thus far folks. I have spent a few hours on that patch today starting with making an incinerator with some concrete rebar mesh. I've burned all the tree cuttings that littered the plot from my recent pole saw adventure. The only things to move on this plot are the new concrete posts and gravel boards which are waiting to be erected. I'll be moving them out the way temporarily.
Whilst on the plot and tending the fire I decided that it's going to be a dig. I have boards to straddle the ground as i go and i have some black membrane. Told wifey of my dig plan and she's telling me off as I have a hernia. This wont stop me but i'll take my time. I'm eager to get this plot clear and up and running. I have more concreting and a bit of slabbing to do elsewhere but the cold prevents that at the mo so it makes sense to crack on with what I can do. Second greenhouse needs to be glazed but the icy ground, glass and ladder make this a bit too hazardous. Probably start digging tomorrow if the ground has thawed a little. That fire should have helped. I have strawberries. raspberries, black currant and rhubarb to move to part of this plot and I'm hoping my remaining desiree spuds will be ok for seed as they'll go on this plot too. My growing area will massively increase with this plot and now I'm retired im hoping I can make it as productive as possible.

Edit: i have a spare 250l blue barrel which i can site between the greenhouses after i have sited the IBC's. I think that the "add water" method described above may be workable BUT there will be a lot of this couch grass removed so i'll have to "store" it in the jumbo bags. I have a few chickens too and replies elsewhere on the internet suggest that chooks like couch grass too but they dont specify leaves, shoots or both.

[Penellype]

I can confirm that chickens like grass of any sort. If you put them on an undug area and chuck the grass in you will soon see if they eat the roots or not and you can go from there.

[Vince G]

Personally I have never found covering weeds does the trick. The only surefire way to get rid of them is to dig them out, although this is nigh on impossible with couch grass and horsetail which you just have to try and manage as best you can and work around.

As regards glyphosate, yes I use it but not in areas where plants will be planted any time soon. It's great for spot spraying weeds, clearing paths and driveways though.

[I'm doing this now!]

Managed to dig 1 foot over the full width yesterday and today. Rain has stopped play and its been hard going.
No previous work done for decades and every fork tine hits a flint. All obvious roots and greenery removed so as to "take no chances". hundreds of small dandelions too and their roots are really long. At this rate it'll take me a month.