uneven ground.

[noodles]

Hi All,

Can anyone suggest how i should go about making my allotment nice and level.
At the moment i have lots of lumps of grass, and general uneven ground. I have
been informed that the best plots are pretty flat and level.

Is rotivating a good idea to do this? Is the above true about needing to be flat?

Any help would be really welcome.

thanks.

[noodles]

forgot to add to my first post. When i dug over an area of my plot the other day, i took off the top layer of lumps of grass to expose the decent soil underneath. Thing is i was left with a pile of grass lumps. A chap at the allotment asked what i intended to do with my new pile of lumps, of course i had no idea, i had intended jus to leave the piles where they were. Can i dig these back into the ground? will this cause more weeds to grow? any other ideas would be good.

[TheGoodEarth]

Have you considered building raised beds with say old scaffolding planks and then filling with soil? This can help keep the beds separate as well as level.

By uneven do you mean sloping as well? If sloping it probably drains well so plant accordingly. If it is reasonably flat i would just use a rotivator to churn it up before digging in a fertiliser.

When I dug out loads of turf squares when I was making a flower bed I used them to make a grass sofa in the garden. Just soak them and you can build up the layers and arms/back etc. You need to strim it to keep the grass down but that's about it.

We have mice holes in ours but they tend not to come out when you are sitting there.

[noodles]

Hi thegoodearth.

the ground isn't sloping, it's not bad on that score. I have put some samll raised beds in
at the moment, but i wasn't thinking about any big ones at the moment, it does make sense though, and others on the allotment have taken that approach.

the turf sofa is genius. you are obviously very creative.

do you think the lumps i have dug out would be ok to compost? or am i just about to make
a new pile of weeds?

[JustinFun]

Hi Noodles,

I was going to post "get an Azada!" but I see from your other thread that you already have. So, umm, nothing to see here....


We have the same problem as you with clumps of grass - I've just been piling them up, so I'll watch this thread with interest. Ours are a bit too unruly for a turf sofa - lumps and clumps rather than turf.

[Odsox]

do you think the lumps i have dug out would be ok to compost? or am i just about to make
a new pile of weeds?

If you have room and there is a good quantity of soil still attached to the roots, you can do what the old timers did to make potting compost.
Lay the turf upside down in a heap and cover with a sheet of something to keep out the light. This time next year you will have a pile of soil that you can either put back or use in pots.
One word of warning, it will still contain weed seeds that WILL germinate, so if you want to use it for potting compost you will need to sterilise it first.

[noodles]

Hi All,

I have just been piling the lumps up too, it looks a bit unsightly though.
Someone suggested piling it all up on top of palletts, then apparently when it rains
the soil will wash through the palletts and leave the weeds on top, which you
then burn. Might be worth a punt.

Also, like the idea of making potting compost. Can i assume by saying sterile that
you would cover the soil in weed killer or similar?

thanks.

[Odsox]

Also, like the idea of making potting compost. Can i assume by saying sterile that
you would cover the soil in weed killer or similar?

No, that wouldn't work unless you used one of those kill everything highly toxic weedkillers. Then you would have to leave it for another year or it will kill your wanted seeds as well

If you want to use it for potting compost, put small quantities in a plastic bowl and microwave on high for about 3 minutes.

[Millymollymandy]

After sifting out the poor worms!

I'd just compost those lumps of grass. Leave them in a pile in a corner somewhere and they will rot down eventually then you can use the soil to top up any raised beds that you make.

[Odsox]

After sifting out the poor worms!

I'd just compost those lumps of grass. Leave them in a pile in a corner somewhere and they will rot down eventually .

I think that would be "root" down eventually if you don't cover them with some lightproof material.

[Millymollymandy]

Depends on how big the pile is. Ours rotted down - granted plenty of weeds growing out the top of what is now ultimately a large mound of soil - which I don't really want where it is but is too much to move now!

[Green Aura]

We double dug our raised beds, put cardboard in the bottom, put the sods in upside down and then put the soil from underneath back on top. The grass hasn't grown back and we've got nice deep beds (after the first year).

[Flo]

I'm with those who turn the lumps of grass face down and then cover with soil. They will rot and do a lot of good for the area where you have done it.

As for the other lumps - when they are dry enough you should be able to knock them loose and rake them out to include in the normal soil.

Uneven allotment? Hmm - work the soil till it's fairly fine and loose then you will just have to rake it and rake it till it's level. You might need the help of a friend who can see straight and level - not all of us can do it.

[Odsox]

I'm with those who turn the lumps of grass face down and then cover with soil. They will rot and do a lot of good for the area where you have done it.

Hmm, I'm not so sure this is a good idea.
I know that burying straw in cereal fields is not a good thing and I am assuming that grass is the same.
Straw (and grass?) is high in carbon and needs nitrogen to decompose ... just like in your compost bin.
If it's buried it can only take it from the soil and you end up with nitrogen depleted soil.
But that's just my take on it and could well be wrong

[Flo]

It works just fine me dear. And it doesn't wreck the nitrogen levels usually. Some of us have been doing it for years without problems.