Re allotment root problem

[jacklev1 12]

Hi just got myself an allotment ,which has not been used for a few years .

it has got bramble bushes 6ft high full length of garden pluss nettles starting to come through ,have now cut all the brambles down and started to dig the soil over but there is roots every where.is there any thing i could use to kill the roots as i am sure they will start to come back again trying to pick most off roots out of soil but no chance to get all of them , any idea please !!

[melv 16]

Sounds like my allotment when I took it over 3yrs ago. The best advice I took was to chop it all down to ground-level, then cover it with old carpet..(you can get this from most carpet shops.)Then leave it for at least 6mths. You will find that all the roots will have died & it should dig like a dream.

[mc55 10]

now is the time to be digging, while the plant is still rousing itself. Hard work, but worth it. Mine was the same. Nettles are good to some extent - you can make a liquid feed from them to use on other plants and I believe they are a good soil fertility indicator.

[Guest sibon]

Sounds like my allotment when I took it over 3yrs ago. The best advice I took was to chop it all down to ground-level, then cover it with old carpet..(you can get this from most carpet shops.)Then leave it for at least 6mths. You will find that all the roots will have died & it should dig like a dream.

 

Covering can work, but there is a school of thought that says that old carpet isn't the way. The carpet can leach a variety of chemicals into the soil, including fireproofing chemicals. In any case, you have to lift and dispose of soggy dirty carpet when you have done, not as easy as it sounds. A better way is to cover with lots of cardboard, which will rot into the soil over time... this will save you from disposing of it after use.

 

If I were you, I'd cover half the plot and dig the rest now. Any roots you miss will sprout, you are correct. Let them develop a couple of leaves and spray with a gyphosate based weedkiller. This will kill off the plant, roots and all. You could be planting into your cleared half by early June. In the meantime, start some beans, courgettes and other stuff in pots, ready for planting out.

[melv 16]

You can indeed use cardboard. However, if you get a dry spell & the cardboard dries out, you'll have the rest of the allotments complaining when it blows into their plot on a windy day!

[Guest sibon]

You can indeed use cardboard. However, if you get a dry spell & the cardboard dries out, you'll have the rest of the allotments complaining when it blows into their plot on a windy day!

 

Bricks. Lots of bricks.

 

Or weedkiller:D

[Sally A 10]

Bramble roots are the biggest PITA; there is however something very satisfying about uprooting a stem and following it back to it's parent plant and then snipping it off.

 

Mine pop up everywhere, I just cut them off as close to the source as possible, this definitely stunts their growth for 6 months or so, and if you do it often enough they will give up.

 

Worst thing is you don't know you have an underground bramble stem until it rips the flesh off your hands.

 

We managed to reclaim about 15 feet at the top of the garden through regular and boring bramble snipping. So don't give up - it does pay off in the end, and chemical free too.

[mc55 10]

mmm try to avoid chemicals if you can

[RobD1 10]

Yep, cover up any areas you're not digging at the moment. Don't use carpet - besides any chemicals that may leak out of it, it's a nightmare to lift wet, muddy carpet that has started to break up and you've still got to take it somewhere to dispose of it. I'm a fan of the cardboard and bricks myself

 

Digging them out is the best way to go. It's long, sometimes painful, but by far the most effective method, and you're going to have to dig the plot over at some point anyway. Digging the roots out will also help get any other weeds out and make it better for planting.