Thanks everyone. It's all very interesting and a bit confusing. Alan, I like the idea of no weed killer and definately no digging, but how long would I need to keep covered and would it be ready to plant potatoes in spring?
If you put FYM down after cutting down and raking off the nettles, then covered in black plastic, you could plant potatoes in holes (or crosses) cut in the black plastic for the first year. Try looking up " No dig gardening". The black plastic will suppress any weed seeds, and the potatoes will happily grow through planting holes.
Sorry to pour cold water...but the black plastic method, whilst growing good spuds will also encourage slugs and snails who will feast on them. You may still want to use this method as it will hopefully sort out your nettles, but don't expect perfect potatoes too.
Oh heck - the plot thickens! perhaps a good job the weather forecast not too good to give me time to debate how to tackle this. Thanks for all the suggestions everyone.
Well I think I've made good headway with veg plot. I cleared an area of nettles mainly by pulling out and digging after spraying with glyphosphate a few weeks before. I've made 4 beds approx 2m x1 m. I laid layers of cardboard and covered with layers of home made compost &leaf mould to a depth of about 5-6inches. Haven't got farmyard manure as not been able to locate any yet and I keep hearing comments of possible unwanted chemicals in it. Do you think I need it? Wondered about just adding chicken pellets. The beds are not enclosed as the field actually belongs to our next door neighbour who kindly lets us use it, so I didn't want to do anything permanent. I have just trodden down a soil pathway between the beds. Am wondering if this sounds ok so far or if anything else should be done. Hard work - who needs a gym?
Great progress, very impressed. Pellets will do nicely. Also as you have fallow land you should find it is pretty fertile for at least a year. So you need not worry about FYM for now. Can you start a compost heap for the longer term?
Also have you decided what to plant and when. Pop into your local GC and see if they have any veg. plantlets for you to get going with. Also there is a winter version of broad bean , Aquadulce, which you could start.
Already have couple of darlek compost bins and several large builders bags of leaf mould in the making also in field. There is still a large area of nettles and also lots of comfrey so I make tea with those. I have broad beans growing in a bed in the garden already- I have planted The Sutton for the first time. My plans for the new beds are potatoes, prob Charlotte and International Kidney in one bed. I,ve got some Pixie spring cabbage growing in pots also. In the third bed I plan to grow Cobra french beans as they grew well just in my flower borders this year. I thought I may grow greyhound cabbage in the spring . Also somewhere I want to have courgettes and butternut squash. My raised bed in the garden will then be used for salad stuff. I'll see how I get on with that and may clear some more room for other things later,depending how I get on with this.
Yes I like the idea of fruit bushes. I once tasted red gooseberries and would quite like to try those and also wondered about autumn raspberries as I read that these are easier than summer ones.
I think it's autumn raspberries that are pruned after fruiting and regrow the following year to pruduce fruit on the new growth, happy to be wrong though
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Thanks everyone. It's all very interesting and a bit confusing. Alan, I like the idea of no weed killer and definately no digging, but how long would I need to keep covered and would it be ready to plant potatoes in spring?
If you put FYM down after cutting down and raking off the nettles, then covered in black plastic, you could plant potatoes in holes (or crosses) cut in the black plastic for the first year. Try looking up " No dig gardening". The black plastic will suppress any weed seeds, and the potatoes will happily grow through planting holes.
Sorry to pour cold water...but the black plastic method, whilst growing good spuds will also encourage slugs and snails who will feast on them. You may still want to use this method as it will hopefully sort out your nettles, but don't expect perfect potatoes too.
Oh heck - the plot thickens! perhaps a good job the weather forecast not too good to give me time to debate how to tackle this. Thanks for all the suggestions everyone.
Well I think I've made good headway with veg plot. I cleared an area of nettles mainly by pulling out and digging after spraying with glyphosphate a few weeks before. I've made 4 beds approx 2m x1 m. I laid layers of cardboard and covered with layers of home made compost &leaf mould to a depth of about 5-6inches. Haven't got farmyard manure as not been able to locate any yet and I keep hearing comments of possible unwanted chemicals in it. Do you think I need it? Wondered about just adding chicken pellets. The beds are not enclosed as the field actually belongs to our next door neighbour who kindly lets us use it, so I didn't want to do anything permanent. I have just trodden down a soil pathway between the beds. Am wondering if this sounds ok so far or if anything else should be done. Hard work - who needs a gym?
Great progress, very impressed. Pellets will do nicely. Also as you have fallow land you should find it is pretty fertile for at least a year. So you need not worry about FYM for now. Can you start a compost heap for the longer term?
Also have you decided what to plant and when. Pop into your local GC and see if they have any veg. plantlets for you to get going with. Also there is a winter version of broad bean , Aquadulce, which you could start.
Already have couple of darlek compost bins and several large builders bags of leaf mould in the making also in field. There is still a large area of nettles and also lots of comfrey so I make tea with those. I have broad beans growing in a bed in the garden already- I have planted The Sutton for the first time. My plans for the new beds are potatoes, prob Charlotte and International Kidney in one bed. I,ve got some Pixie spring cabbage growing in pots also. In the third bed I plan to grow Cobra french beans as they grew well just in my flower borders this year. I thought I may grow greyhound cabbage in the spring . Also somewhere I want to have courgettes and butternut squash. My raised bed in the garden will then be used for salad stuff. I'll see how I get on with that and may clear some more room for other things later,depending how I get on with this.
Have you considered planting a few fruit bushes. Currant and gooseberry require very little care and can be planted now for next year.
Yes I like the idea of fruit bushes. I once tasted red gooseberries and would quite like to try those and also wondered about autumn raspberries as I read that these are easier than summer ones.
I think it's autumn raspberries that are pruned after fruiting and regrow the following year to pruduce fruit on the new growth, happy to be wrong though