- This topic has 3 replies, 4 voices, and was last updated 10 years, 2 months ago by .
-
Posts
-
Bonjour…Ca va…???
Just nipped back inside for a Nescaf and a rollie after spending the last hour breaking me bl**dy back…!!! better known in your professional gardening circles as a little light digging…!!! (I think not….!!!)
…anyway seriously sound advice required please…
Couch grass…!!!..
..and when I say Couch grass I mean bl**dy mountains of Bl**DY COUCH GRASS…!!!…
Just starting digging a potager (veg patch) that has been a potager for years…but…has not been used possibly for 3/4 years…and it is/was 94cm high in bl**dy Couch grass…
Please remember it is the 1st of June today here in Normandy France & I would rather like to eat some fresh homegrown vegetables this year and not wait until next…!!!
Soooooooooooo…..I strimmed it first….(Yet another back breaking occasion…the strimmer didnay start and when eventually the damn thing did start, it struggled to cut the damn daisies never mind the bl**dy COUCH GRASS…I promise you I have 4 weeping blisters to prove it..!!!)
anyway back t’ story…
…I then looked/perused/scurtinised and analalysed the now felled COUCH GRASS for the better part of the whole of last week, whilst quoffing coupious amounts of Nescaf, leaning on the spade, smoking Gord knows how many rollies, trying to comprise a planification…..!!!….(one planification I had was to just move house, but, as I have only just moved ‘ere that might be considered as possibly cheating…!!!)
Now back in the day when I was large-scale dairy and sheep farming (upt North in Scotland) I would quite happily fire up the quillion horse-power John Deere tractor with the 742 tonne chemical sprayer ont’ back and merrily kill weeds, neighbours weeds, mesel and the neighbours children possibly as well….!!!…
But….
Apparently, I am these days, a wee bit more enlightened,….nay spraying allowed…soooooooo how do I get rid of this bloody Couch grass….???….And please divenay say dig the stuff out…I am on my ‘742nd’ barrowful of the stuff already and I have only bin owt there an hour…!!!…
As per usual I am relying on you PROFESSIONAL GARDENERS wise counsel…..
A Bientot
Madame Scarecrow
Ps…and please nay comments on me bl**dy spelllling I am too tired/exhausted & kna**ered to care…!!!
Hi. There is some really useful info in the following link(s) that is mostly relevant to your challenging starting point; Good luck!
http://www.charlesdowding.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/Taming-an-overgrown-allotment.pdf
http://www.charlesdowding.co.uk/no-dig-growing/no-dig-growing-preparation/
You have my heartfelt sympathy! I just took on a 5 rod allotment in much that condition and have a strimmer that gave up the ghost to boot.
I have had mine covered a while now and couldn’t find enough card and compost to cover so opted for mainly mypex as a stop gap to stop it getting even worse. I have planted potatoes through it and suffered quite a lot of slug damage and weeds finding their way through the holes. So far from ideal. Given the option I would definitely go for card and compost in preference and you can plant through that with less issues. However we work with what we have and so once my potatoes are out I will remove any remaining weeds, buy in as much compost as I can expect to shift and start doing it properly.
I think the key is to do what you can and break it down to bite size chunks. Enjoy!
I took over a new allotment, plot 248, last August and it was covered in couch grass, bindweed and lots else besides.
I have more photos and a blog about my progress here. I decided to play the long game and try to rid the plot of most weeds by covering with old plastic sheets and mypex in an attempt to starve the weeds of light. As soon as possible I added manure under the covers to get the worms doing the digging for me. Nine months later the only weed of any note is bindweed and I am forking this out one bed at a time but I will leave some of the worst patches until I can be sure that I can maintain what has been cleared. I was fortunate in having Plot 248 as a second plot so was not in a rush to plant up, particularly as it was getting late in the season.
I think it is best to be realistic and conservative about what you can weed thoroughly AND maintain for this season’s crops and, for the rest, let a combination of light excluding material and organic matter do the weedkilling and digging for you. This will give you a great start for next season. You can always add to you cultivated area one bed at a time as your back defeats the couch.
I think Bluebell’s comment, “break it down to bite size chunks” is great advice.
Bonne chance!
- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.