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Old Wives and Cultivators
A neighbour and myself are about to acquire an allotment, which is good news
as our small gardens have been hijacked for flowers and shrubs by the ladies. The allotment is somewhat overgrown and neglected and we are thinking of hiring a cultivator for the weekend. However, a couple of the 'allotmentees', suggest that this will only bring weed seeds to the surface, but they cannot provide any supporting evidence to back this theory up. Has any one else heard this story, or is it merely an old wives' tale, planted by fork manufacturers + chiropractors Regards ..............Paul |
#2
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Old Wives and Cultivators
Hi Paul, weed seeds dont dwell at a certain depth ready to spread,they are
at all levels (depending on how much cultivation and how deep) also their is windblown too. After rotovating weed seed will always germinate,just hoe them of or use a thick layer of mulch. Regards G "Paul England" wrote in message ... A neighbour and myself are about to acquire an allotment, which is good news as our small gardens have been hijacked for flowers and shrubs by the ladies. The allotment is somewhat overgrown and neglected and we are thinking of hiring a cultivator for the weekend. However, a couple of the 'allotmentees', suggest that this will only bring weed seeds to the surface, but they cannot provide any supporting evidence to back this theory up. Has any one else heard this story, or is it merely an old wives' tale, planted by fork manufacturers + chiropractors Regards ..............Paul |
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Old Wives and Cultivators
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#4
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Old Wives and Cultivators
"Paul wrote in message A neighbour and myself are about to acquire an The allotment is somewhat overgrown and neglected and we are thinking of hiring a cultivator for the weekend. ((snip)) We started ours with a cultivator and the ground was rock hard clay, previously used as a car park (unknown to us!). You will need to clear off all the weeds on top of the soil or at least strim them down to ground level. Then go over the ground time and again digging deeper each time. A lot of veg don't need much depth of soil, onions for example, and cabbages etc like firm soil so don't worry too much. Then as you crop each thing dig that small patch by hand so that after one season your plot is all hand dug to one spit. Then when you realise the crop is no different, don't bother again, just use a rotovator. :-) -- Bob www.pooleygreengrowers.org.uk/ about an Allotment site in Runnymede fighting for it's existance. |
#6
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Old Wives and Cultivators
There are several problems with using a rotavator, and some of these have been
touched on. Basically they are as follows: 1) The rotavator will probably not 'dig' deep enough to be effective and give you the desired results. 2) The rotavator will till the soil without giving you the opportunity to break the soil up as with a fork and remove weed roots as you go, hence the concern with weeds. Weed seeds are immaterial when it comes to choosing to till the soil with a rotavator or fork as both systems turn the soil and weed seeds over and allow some weed seeds to germinate and grow. 3) The rotavator may turn the top soil over, but may compact the soil that the blades ride over. This can lead to 'panning' which will restrict the ability of water to drain through the soil, and will also limit the ability of plant roots to travel down through the soil. Very sandy soils will be least effected, while clay soils will be worst effected. If it was up to me II'd spend the money on something else, though whether you want to or not is up to you. Personally I'd go for a new fork, or something else that I needed, or maybe a couple of folding seats to sit on whenever I needed a rest, or maybe a new flask for my tea/coffee, or some fancy biscuits to have when I took a rest. The list could go ever on, but I won't indulge myself. It does however prompt me to think of some things to ask for for Christmas. I now have some ideas of things to ask for when relatives ask me what I want. All the best with the new plot. Dave. |
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#8
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Old Wives and Cultivators
"DaveDay34" wrote in message ... snip Personally I'd go for a new fork, or something else that I needed, or maybe a couple of folding seats to sit on whenever I needed a rest, or maybe a new flask for my tea/coffee, or some fancy biscuits snip Many thanks to G, Jonathan, Hussein, Ned, Steve, Stuart, Dave, Sue and Bob, for your obs and advice. I have shown your posts to my neighbour and have ellected to go for hand digging. As luck would have it, my neighbour is one of those tough itinerant farm workers and I am going to suggest that he buys a new fork and I will buy a folding seat, as mentioned by Dave above. Plus I've always wanted a stainless steel vacuum flask. I suspect, however, he may just beat the crap out of me, for me cheek. Still, these are the stuff of dreams..........Best regards Paul. |
#9
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Old Wives and Cultivators
Plus I've always wanted a stainless steel vacuum flask. I suspect, however, he
may just beat the crap out of me, for me cheek. Still, these are the stuff of dreams..........Best regards Paul. Maybe you could offer to get the flask and share it? Maybe then he wouldn't knock the you-know-what out of you. Dave. |
#10
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Old Wives and Cultivators
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