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Allotment clearing

KeenOnGreenKeenOnGreen Posts: 1,831
in Tools and techniques
We have a new allotment (hooray!), but it has not been cultivated for 5 years, and is covered in 6ft high weeds and brambles.  Can anyone recommend a strimmer that would be able to deal with such heavy growth?  Most of the usual garden ones don't look strong enough.  Ideally we would like to not only cut most of the growth down, but also to chop it up into small, baggable pieces.  Will the strimmer do this too, or do we need a shredder as well?  Any advice gratefully received.  My next post will be, how do we get rid of all of the roots!

Posts

  • josusa47josusa47 Posts: 3,530
    In answer to the last question, one thing you don't want to do is rotavate.  It chops the roots of perennial weeds into little pieces, and they all grow into new plants and the plot is ten times weedier that it was before.  Better to dig it over, backbreaking toil, but it does two jobs, breaks up compacted soil and gets rid of weeds.  
  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
    edited July 2019
    I’d hire a petrol brush cutter ( and the safety gear) ... a strimmer will really only deal efficiently with grass. https://www.diydoctor.org.uk/projects/using-strimmers-and-brushcutters.htm

    If you're not confident about handling such a beast yourself then pay a pro to do it ... it’ll probably be just as cheap in the long run, and you can be (raking/shredding/making a compost heap)behind them ... and then you start digging 😉

    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • Hampshire_HogHampshire_Hog Posts: 1,089
    As Dove says probable best to hire the equipment and an operator if your not confident.

    If you look on the web there is lots of information about allotments out there try this one I have found it useful over the years as it's specifically aimed at the vegetable / allotment gardener

    https://www.allotment-garden.org/allotment-information/clearing-new-allotment/

    I would add I have no connection with the above site in anyway what so ever.

    "You don't stop gardening because you get old, you get old because you stop gardening." - The Hampshire Hog
  • treehugger80treehugger80 Posts: 1,923
    edited July 2019
    what you can do is get hold of some corrugated cardboard boxes (try bike shops or household appliance stores, they have nice big boxes),
    once you taken it to the ground (i'd also dig out any bramble plants you can find) don't bother bagging up, lay cardboard straight on the surface and bury it with 5-6 inches of organic matter - horse manure (unrotted where you're not going to plant this year is fine), grass clippings, straw, compost etc.
    by spring the whole area covered will be ready to plant into immediately with no digging over


  • KeenOnGreenKeenOnGreen Posts: 1,831
    Thanks everyone.  @Dovefromabove I think you may be right about the brush cutter.  We can borrow a strimmer from someone at the allotment, so we'll try that first, and might go down the route for paying a professional company to do it (but are reluctant, as that is money we can use to buy a shed, etc).  Once the top growth is gone, we'll give some thought to the cardboard/mulch vs digging out the roots approach.  I know which one we prefer!
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