Newbie in need of help -weeds!

[cside 10]

Hi,

So my partner just got an allotment. The WHOLE thing is covered in weeds, every kind of weed you can think of.

 

We've pulled a lot out but the ground is now covered in dandilion seeds.

 

Whats the best way to tackle this?

[Opalsky 10]

Put a weed suppressing membrane on the area you want to grow and cover the rest with old carpet. Perhaps some more experience gardeners here will come up with a better option.

 

Did you shake the weeds when removing them , is that how the seeds got everywhere? You need to pull them out carefully making sure no seeds fall out.

[cside 10]

We were a bit careless to begin with, but then pulled the heads off most in order to isloate them and stop them spreading. The carpet idea is really good!

[Lederhose 10]

Congratulations on your new allotment, how exciting!

 

Please do not put old carpet on your allotment though to control the weeds. It becomes very heavy to move when it gets wet and weed seeds simply grow through it as it starts to decompose. A far better idea is to cover areas you don't intend to fully dig over yet with black heavy duty polythene, weighed down by bricks, once the surface weeds have been removed.

 

Hope this helps.

[cside 10]

Thanks Lederhose. We'll definitely try polythene for certain areas as the plot is pretty large.

[Hayley1 10]

I agree with the black plastic. I also suggest you work on a single area at a time to clear, improve if needed and plant up, that way it'll not feel such a huge task.

[markyspark 10]

I took the easy approach with our large allotment at Rivelin

 

I bought a bottle of Rosate 36 weedkiller and mixed with plenty of water then sprayed it on every weed

 

Two weeks later the weeds were dead and we simply pulled them out and turned the beds over

 

Depends whether or not you want to go down the organic root, the amount of weeds we had warranted weed killer

 

All the best

 

Mark

[lauraloo21 10]

I have the same problem, we have just taken on an allotment on the hagg site and its covered in weeds, its also fairly boggy!! Was going to use some old carpet but after reading this will give the black poly a go!! Thanks

[SpikeMac 10]

Congratulations on your new allotment, how exciting!

 

Please do not put old carpet on your allotment though to control the weeds. It becomes very heavy to move when it gets wet and weed seeds simply grow through it as it starts to decompose. A far better idea is to cover areas you don't intend to fully dig over yet with black heavy duty polythene, weighed down by bricks, once the surface weeds have been removed.

 

Hope this helps.

 

I agree with the black plastic. I also suggest you work on a single area at a time to clear, improve if needed and plant up, that way it'll not feel such a huge task.

 

Two bits of quality advice. Carpet causes far more problems that it solves.

 

Nip to any garden centre this weekend and you should be able to pick up discounted seed potatoes. Don't worry if they look a bit shriveled. Don't even worry about the type. Get what you can.

 

Clear a patch of land and plant the spuds ASAP. They will grow quickly and smother any returning weeds. When you dig the spuds, you get a nice crop and lovely soil.

[lauraloo21 10]

Nip to any garden centre this weekend and you should be able to pick up discounted seed potatoes. Don't worry if they look a bit shriveled. Don't even worry about the type. Get what you can.

 

Clear a patch of land and plant the spuds ASAP. They will grow quickly and smother any returning weeds. When you dig the spuds, you get a nice crop and lovely soil.

 

Fantastic advice, shall go potatoe seed hunting at the weekend and get my wellies out for the plastic bag/clearing session!!!

[Swalk 10]

Fantastic advice, shall go potatoe seed hunting at the weekend and get my wellies out for the plastic bag/clearing session!!!

 

The new home bargains store on penistone road were selling off their seed potatoes at half price (I think) yesterday when I popped in. There seemed to be quite a few left too.

[Bee70 10]

cardboard is really good too, especially if you put manure on top (both of which you could get for free) - the worms love it and it helps the soil as well as killing off the weeds. We just got a very overgrown allotment, and this has worked really well for us.