Weeds on an allotment?

Question

We have had an allotment for about 6 weeks and after killing all the weeds with Roundup i have dug it over. Almost as fast as i am digging millions of tiny new weeds are growing. I have planted some Japanese onion sets and winter broccoli but these too are being drowned out by the weeds. I can't keep up with the hoeing. Any suggestions about how to keep them under control would be greately appreciated?

Answer 1

Put down a layer of natural mulch, such as straw. This will block the light from reaching the weeds so they can't grow.

Start your broccoli seeds in pots and transplant the little plants and your onion sets through the straw, putting straw around them to insulate them and block the weeds. If the weeds break through, just put a little more straw on them.

When your plants are done, leave the straw down, it will eventually break down into compost.
This is a really easy way to garden, cuts down on watering time and keeps the plants really healthy. I have done this for years and like the way it works.

Good luck to you.

Answer 2

By digging the ground over you will have brought lots of weed seeds nearer the surface so that they can (and have) germinate.

Also, unless you removed every bit of weed root when you dug it over, the perennial weeds will just grow again as if you had created root cuttings.

The most efficient method to get rid of weeds, now, would be to cover the ground with heavy black plastic. With it being an allotment you don't have to worry about the look of the thing. Alternatively, if you have any old carpet you don't want, lay that down over the ground (backing side up). This will smother the weeds over the winter and when you come to plant in the spring the ground should be warmer and easier to work.

This should leave you only the area around the veg already planted to keep weed-free.

Answer 3

It is all in the preparation - like decorating! You should clean the soil before sowing and planting. A very good method is to fumigate the soil which will not only kill pernicious weeds but also weed seeds and soil pests too with the result that you will also get much better crops. You can either rotovate the soil to a fine tilth or dig and fork etc. to a depth say of 150mm apply the fumigant prill, firm and water the soil surface to seal. In small areas you can cover with polythene and apply weights at the edges to hold the released gas in for as long as possible. You should work quickly and effectively and only do sufficient area at a time to achieve speed of final operation of applying fumigant, firming and sealing. Methyl bromide was used as a prill (injection as a gas is beyond the scope of most amateur gardeners) but because it is ozone depleting may now have been banned in UK however Telone is one alternative. Suggest you contact Murphy Chemical Co. Pan Brittanica, ICI Plant Protection etc.for an alternative.
You can of course lay black polythene sheeting and plant your plants through that in tiny holes!

Answer 4

With the tiny seedlings you can kill them just by turning the soil over and burying them. As they get bigger they become easier to just pull up, especially as you have got the soil all dug over.

As the others are saying, when you dig land over you expose loads of weed seeds. The great thing though is that gradually the weed seeds in the soil will diminish - because they have germinated and been dealt with. So in the next couple of years the numbers should reduce noticeably! Our garden was just like your allotment, and after four years was hardly weedy at all, just really what grew after blowing in on the wind, or coming in on shoes or in bird droppings. It was great. Then we got re-located for 18 months because of my work. The whole veggie garden went totally back to how it was before, and the few weeds that grew and set seed in between our visits then dropped trillions of seeds, and now this year, our first back, it's just like it was when we started. Not fair!

But it's good to know that in a couple of years it will be pretty weed free again. In the meantime, you just keep on top of yours and it WILL get better!

You can lay stuff on the weedy areas, straw, thick newspapers, cardboard, old mats, anything really. But it's not so good at killing weeds that have already started to get into substantial plants. That requires thick plastic.

Answer 5

you would be better getting down the allotment more frequently and hoe or pick out by hand too many chemicals will not help you get a fantastic crop. Don't forget now the winter is coming weeds will slow down. Weeds are some thing we all have to live with just keep up the hard work and it will pay off.

Answer 6

providing you used the correct application rate of round up for this time of year then all should be well but roundup always works better when weeds are growing more vigourously also did it rain after the application . like the old sayingone years seeding is ten years weeding so make sure you keep on top of all new weeds especially annuals as they will remove valuable nutrients from the soil and if allowed to get too big, light levels to. several recommendations for this time ofyear
1. keep hoeing for the annuals as they may set seed as we are experiencing warmer weather hence more weeds . they will slow down trust me
2. sometimes you can purchase a stronger roundup from agricultural merchants if the company will allow you
3. i know you want to produce your own veg as soon as possible but leaving your plot bare and mulching with a well rotted manure available from a stable or farmer dont use manure with alot of straw as this will lock up nitrogen which is always good for plants later!

Answer 7

You will never get rid of them - but I find hand pulling / digging much better as you get most of the roots. Hoeing although good for the ground, I find not too effective unless the sun is shining for days and you pick them all up. People will hate me for this, but I have found sometimes especially with broccoli weeds don't do too much harm to the plant - I would be more concerned with whitefly. Don't waste your money on weed killers.

Answer 8

Welcoem to teh world of allotments. A wonderful pasttime. If your allotment has been unused prior to you taking it over then it will have many weed seeds. As you dig you destroy sprouting weeds but bring deeper weed seeds to the surface. The best technique is to keep digging so that seeds keep germinating and then you can destroy them. Eventually you will eliminate most of the weeds. Where you have already sown crops there is no substitute better than weeding by hand pulling out each weed without damaging your onions. Unfortunately there is no short cut. Avoid using chemicals if possible.

Answer 9

that's a deep rooted weed and loves dark damp soil so wil placed placed out shoots below paving, different flora and so on honestly unfold and reducing off tops can enable ant to variety new flora if dropped in damp soil cracks and so on. particular weed killer is mandatory right here and not for some reason offered to public. look at components to companies that do farming and different agri artwork. One might desire to locate if no longer banned ? A chemical product fir this complicated to kill plant. it extremely is no longer prepared on being decrease and heads bumped off yet that's time eating and encourages greater root boost . mandatory greater undemanding weed killers can kill off localised sections of the weed yet you do certainly might desire to bruise the leaves to enable any floor chemical to get into plant leaves that are skinny and waxy. that's probably one among toughest weeds to get rid of.

Answer 10

Before you plant anything, cover with mulch. You can buy this fabric at Home Depot to cover the area before planting. Just slit where you want to plant. This will keep the weeds from germinating.