I don't like glyphosate either but in extreme cases it has its uses as long as people stick to the recommended doses. Residue in the soil is inert but does get washed into waterways and then it's a problem as is over concentrating the spray mix which has led to cancers and birth defects in 3rd world countries.
My garden is surrounded by arable land and pasture so couch grass, nettles and teh rest are constantly present. For two years I was unable to garden much following neck surgery for a slipped disk and then having both feet reconstructed. The weeds had a fine time invading but 2 years on they are under control in all except one large bed round a natural pond that we haven't really tackled.
Constant vigilance is needed and some refereeing when the roots get entangled in the roots of treasures but you can win without chemicals.
Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
"The price good men (and women) pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men (and women)."
If you don't want to use chemicals, black plastic, or cardboard, can you devote enough time to keep going back to the allotment to weed it by hand AND keep on top of it?
What are your long term goals for this allotment? Have work / other commitments become any less demanding on your time that you can honestly say you'll be able to give yourself all the energy and efforts you need?
Or do you find someone to share the allotment with you? I'm sure the council will know if there's a waiting list of people who might be interested in a half plot.
I'm just thinking (since I know how quickly weeds take hold) that perhaps you might be better off using the black plastic and cardboard to TRY and suppress the areas you aren't working on straight away and break the plot into small patches to complete at a time.
I'll be able to spend around 12 hours a week at the allotment. This will be spilt across 3 separate days. Will this be enough to keep on top of the plot?
When pulling the weeds, as the soil is so soft and crumbly, shall I simply pull them up, or will it be best to dig them up?
I assume if I'm growing in amongst weeds, my only option will be to pull instead of dig?
I would say that rotovating the plot was the best thing I could have done. I still get couchgrass and bindweed pop up, but just half an hour a week of hoeing the ground and they're beginning to reduce already. Now I'm growing all sorts of fruit and veg knowing that no chemicals have been used at all.
There is still around 25% of the plot that hasn't been touched yet. I couldn't rotovate that section because there are a lot of fruit trees and bushes so didn't want to damage them, meaning that this area is still full of weeds.
The large area of black sheeting that you can see is in front of the shed, we intend to either patio this section or deck it, still undecided! And then we plan to wood chip the paths in between the beds.
Still a lot to do, but I wouldn't have achieved half of what I have if I had not rotovated the plot. If anyone were to ask me whether to rotovate their plot if they have lots of weeds, if would say yes 100%. It hasn't made them worse at all, it's made them a lot more manageable.
Below is a photo from just over a year ago compared to a photo from two weeks back on the next post.
Here is a photo showing the beds behind the sunflower. This photo is taken from a couple of months back just as I began to plant.
We wanted to do something a little different in regards to the beds, so used bricks. Gives us the flexibility to change the layout each year if we want to and should last longer than timber.
Posts
I wish you well Jordan.
I don't like glyphosate either but in extreme cases it has its uses as long as people stick to the recommended doses. Residue in the soil is inert but does get washed into waterways and then it's a problem as is over concentrating the spray mix which has led to cancers and birth defects in 3rd world countries.
My garden is surrounded by arable land and pasture so couch grass, nettles and teh rest are constantly present. For two years I was unable to garden much following neck surgery for a slipped disk and then having both feet reconstructed. The weeds had a fine time invading but 2 years on they are under control in all except one large bed round a natural pond that we haven't really tackled.
Constant vigilance is needed and some refereeing when the roots get entangled in the roots of treasures but you can win without chemicals.
If you don't want to use chemicals, black plastic, or cardboard, can you devote enough time to keep going back to the allotment to weed it by hand AND keep on top of it?
What are your long term goals for this allotment? Have work / other commitments become any less demanding on your time that you can honestly say you'll be able to give yourself all the energy and efforts you need?
Or do you find someone to share the allotment with you? I'm sure the council will know if there's a waiting list of people who might be interested in a half plot.
I'm just thinking (since I know how quickly weeds take hold) that perhaps you might be better off using the black plastic and cardboard to TRY and suppress the areas you aren't working on straight away and break the plot into small patches to complete at a time.
When pulling the weeds, as the soil is so soft and crumbly, shall I simply pull them up, or will it be best to dig them up?
I assume if I'm growing in amongst weeds, my only option will be to pull instead of dig?
Thanks for all of the responses so far.
Anyone?
Hi ... How are you getting on? ... are you still following this thread?
Hello, yes I am still active on this website
I would say that rotovating the plot was the best thing I could have done. I still get couchgrass and bindweed pop up, but just half an hour a week of hoeing the ground and they're beginning to reduce already. Now I'm growing all sorts of fruit and veg knowing that no chemicals have been used at all.
There is still around 25% of the plot that hasn't been touched yet. I couldn't rotovate that section because there are a lot of fruit trees and bushes so didn't want to damage them, meaning that this area is still full of weeds.
The large area of black sheeting that you can see is in front of the shed, we intend to either patio this section or deck it, still undecided! And then we plan to wood chip the paths in between the beds.
Still a lot to do, but I wouldn't have achieved half of what I have if I had not rotovated the plot. If anyone were to ask me whether to rotovate their plot if they have lots of weeds, if would say yes 100%. It hasn't made them worse at all, it's made them a lot more manageable.
Below is a photo from just over a year ago compared to a photo from two weeks back on the next post.
This is the photo from just over a year ago.
And here is the photo from two weeks back.
Here is a photo showing the beds behind the sunflower. This photo is taken from a couple of months back just as I began to plant.
We wanted to do something a little different in regards to the beds, so used bricks. Gives us the flexibility to change the layout each year if we want to and should last longer than timber.