Which veg to plant now?

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jimbeekeeper

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Hi all fellow green fingers.

I started my veg plot in late April this year and it has done well from set-aside rough land to cultivation , planting and harvesting in less than a season.

I now have my new shiny rotavator, and now most of my beds are harvested and soil dug, would can I plant now for either an early crop or what requires planting now?

My first plan is garlic
 
James,

and soil dug

Might take issue with that if it has been rotavated. More than a subtle difference in my book.

That aside, asparagus patch? lots of quick maturing salads? winter (shortening day)lettuce? winter onions? Peas and beans a bit later. Brassicas?

Some starter ideas. I'm not a prolific gardener by any means.

Regards, RAB
 
I know!

I volunteered to get the rotavator out to cultivate our new plot (0.2Ha), but the lady said "No". Digging gets rid of weeds. Rotavating can compound the problem. It would have - bindweed, couch grass etc. She does not like too many herbicides.

I intend to get my Plowmate to site and plough, disc, cultivate, harrow the available area ready for next season. A fair bit over half of it. Need to cut the rest down so either a chain saw outing (not favourite) or steadily cut them down with other kit. Mainly less than about 80mm but some quite well established 'brush'.

Regards, RAB
 
I actulay have found that all of the weeds get nicley tangled around the tines!

Which might sound a problem, but on my new machine, just tip it back pull the two pins out and off pop the tines and all the tangled weeds.

Weeding and "digging" in one opperation and no weed killer needed.

My soil is now light and fluffy...you could eat this on its own.
 
My Dad did a lot of that sort of stuff during WWII. He was seconded from the Army to the War Agricultural Commitee because of his qualifications in Land Management and farming experience.

He and his team, mostly PoW's, refugees, and displaced persons, cleared about 6000 acres around Stratford, and in Sutton Park, nr Birmingham. Most of the sites are still clear to this day, although gorse is stubborn.

Their purpose was to grow potatoes for food, which succeeded, and sunflower seeds as an experiment to make petrol substitute, which failed due to rot following a damp season.

He said the American equipment and implements were the best, often using 'crawlers' for their tractive power when clearing scrub. Roots were the big problem, and occasionally they resorted to Dynamite.

Good luck with your 80mm stuff !
 
in my experience with a rotorvator, make sure the site is clear of weeds, especially bindweed, couch and mares tail. then rotorvate, not before as the tines smash the roots into tiny pieces that then multiply the next year !

You have been warned !
 
in my experience with a rotorvator, make sure the site is clear of weeds, especially bindweed, couch and mares tail. then rotorvate, not before as the tines smash the roots into tiny pieces that then multiply the next year !

You have been warned !

I have found the above happens if you rotovate in growing season but if you do it in the winter (before the ground freezes)two or three times it kills the weeds off, including mares tails which were a nightmare on my allotments
 
This is the first year this land has been cultivated for nearly 3 years, the farmer left it as set aside.

So when I first "dug" it over in April this year, it looked great, But come summer some of the weeds where a challenge to keep on top of.

But I did pull most of them up before using my new shiney rotovaor this time.

And like Dave says, I plan to rotovate a couple more times before planting to keep them in check.

And if all else fails, the weed killer!
 
I've not had much to do with crop cultivation since I was a small boy, but iirc the technique was to plough or rotovate and leave rough just before the frosts began, then in the spring break it up into a fine well aerated crumbly tilth. Following that the weeds would sprout and could be removed by pulling, roots and all. Later in the year when the sun was hotter, hoeing was effective to wilt them.

All this makes me remember why I didn't pursue it !
 
I have found the above happens if you rotovate in growing season but if you do it in the winter (before the ground freezes)two or three times it kills the weeds off, including mares tails which were a nightmare on my allotments

If you have found a real solution to mares tail then you'll automatically get a knighthood. In my experience it's nigh on impossible to destroy, I've even found some recently growing in the sandy cement base of a gas meter cabinet on the side of my house where the underground service pipe comes through the floor. The garden and all the land around was completely mares tail free for around thirty years before it sprang up about five years ago. Now, despite regular treatment with concentrated industrial strength glyphosate gel on bruised stems it's barely under control.
 
weeds and rotavating
the applied lodgic is that the blades chop the weeds up and there fore multiply them they also do not kill the weed its self
what i do is to keep rotavating eventualy you will have chopped the weed roots so small that they run out of energy before the new roots and leaves replenish there stores so petrol can be used instead of weed killer

try spraying the weeds before you rotavate them , ie you are chopping up dead plants rather than alive ones, try these weed killers, fire paraffin and a match or a blow torch, hot water pour a kettle of hot water on top of the weed,
house hold salt will also work but takes several months to wash out
i prefere to stubble burn before i rotavate any ground its easier for me to do, also you get to see what is hidden under the nettles
 
A couple of years under carpets or black poly rots a lot of weeds away I understand.
 
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