Starting from scratch

[Áine]

I've not long moved house and have inherited a very old and overgrown vegetable patch,  at one time there was a poly tunnel,  or hoop tunnel as some call it... but now everything has gone and is covered in briars and even young trees that I've identified as Elm... I have my work cut out. 

I'm planning on getting rid of what I can and them mulching and planting through it this year...

Had anyone ever tried planting into straw bales? 

[normadenardo]

I am going from scratch this year too. Virgin ground. Was tilled a couple times last year but didn’t get to plant. I do have a good amount of aged goat poop and spoiled hay to till in. Also part of the garden area is where my chickens and ducks used to be so naturally fertilized. My husband wants to try straw bale. 

[Áine]

I've even thought about putting a couple of pigs on it for a week or so they would make light work of it!  Although they would also eat up all the lovely worms 🙈

 

That's a good idea on the poop, I was thinking of doing that as well, but I no longer have any animals.  I do a old pile of manure but I'm kind of saving that for my dye plant garden. 

 

I think it will just resort to good old hard work..

[Dane Rí Rua]

I jave had this problem time and time again with my place and for me personally i found tje best solution when I weighed up time etc is getting a mini digger in to "toss" the ground,usually dosnt cost me more than 80 to 100 a day and it takes the serious hard work out of it.

Then I cover the ground with plastic or whatever and work it in sections,digging in manure,straw,compost whatever I have really.

 

[Áine]

8 minutes ago, Dane Rí Rua said:

I jave had this problem time and time again with my place and for me personally i found tje best solution when I weighed up time etc is getting a mini digger in to "toss" the ground,usually dosnt cost me more than 80 to 100 a day and it takes the serious hard work out of it.

Then I cover the ground with plastic or whatever and work it in sections,digging in manure,straw,compost whatever I have really.

 

That's a really good idea! I couldn't actually physically get a mini digger in there though.. I have to go through 2 small gates and a path to get there..

 

I've thought about getting a brother you and I both know to come over with the rotator again just to give it a really light turning and them cover it?

[Dane Rí Rua]

Ah that's a shame,even the smallest mini digger?

You mentioned rotavator in another post,I never tought about cutting up the worms etc which is what's good when you get a digger to just toss it it's less invasive.

Alternatively what i used when I literally had no work and no money was goats,they ate all the briars and willow/elm etc and fertilized the ground...still have them and there doing a good job still just make sure they dont escape 😂

[Áine]

21 minutes ago, Dane Rí Rua said:

Ah that's a shame,even the smallest mini digger?

You mentioned rotavator in another post,I never tought about cutting up the worms etc which is what's good when you get a digger to just toss it it's less invasive.

Alternatively what i used when I literally had no work and no money was goats,they ate all the briars and willow/elm etc and fertilized the ground...still have them and there doing a good job still just make sure they dont escape 😂

I used to have milking goats, they were forever escaping 🤣

No even the smallest wouldn't fit,  I'll take some pics of the place later on when it stops raining. 

I'm still feeling with the young trees in there,  they maybe young but the roots go deep and take a lot of digging to get them out.

It was a beautiful garden at one time but hasn't been touched in about 5 years or so. 

[Dane Rí Rua]

Alternatively in regards to the young trees and if your not going down the organic route you could apply some weedkiller to their stumps.

To go Organic or not though another burning question

[Áine]

8 hours ago, Dane Rí Rua said:

Alternatively in regards to the young trees and if your not going down the organic route you could apply some weedkiller to their stumps.

To go Organic or not though another burning question

It will be organic,  they're saplings really but strong enough that they're difficult to dig out

[NW2020]

On ‎2‎/‎18‎/‎2019 at 3:20 PM, anniebea said:

I've not long moved house and have inherited a very old and overgrown vegetable patch,  at one time there was a poly tunnel,  or hoop tunnel as some call it... but now everything has gone and is covered in briars and even young trees that I've identified as Elm... I have my work cut out. 

I'm planning on getting rid of what I can and them mulching and planting through it this year...

Had anyone ever tried planting into straw bales? 

 

How long ago did you move there? 

I ask cuz often when folks move in where they haven't had a chance to see the garden come alive - as in green - often what seemed like all just weeds turned out to be gorgeous plants.  Often we sold our places in the dead of winter and we left notes for the new people as to what the plants were so they wouldn't take out things before they had a chance to see them "blossom" so to speak.