"dave n cally" wrote in message
hi ive just got an allotment for me and my son who is 9yrs old ive no
idea on gardening or growing stuff . the allotment hasnt been used for
a couple of years and was covered in brambles and weeds ive removed all
of them to ground level and they are now comming back up .iam thinking
of using round up on them now and leaving for a week or so then
spreading some manure over the site then covering it over with plastic
sheeting . i can then get somebody to plough then rotivate it for a
small charge is this a good idea as i want to get it looking workable
a.s.a.p. so my son dosent loose interest [he has a.d.h.d.] i think it
could be great for him giving him a hobby and somwhere to burn off
steam PLSE HELP!!!!!!!

You are learning the first lesson of gardening - how to cope with weeds.

I wouldn't advice using Roundup in a food garden or if you have a child
whose condition may be sensitive to modern day chemicals, just plug away at
the soil preparation and get that right from the start. As (and if) you
continue your gardening life, you will find that the soil is the MOST
important part of gardening and growing stuff comes secondary over time. By
that I mean that you will learn that if your soil is right, then you will
never have any trouble growing things (if you don't try to grow things that
are either out of season or not suited to your climate)