Strimming the Period vegetable plot

[88v8]

For some reason that baffles me, my wife gets a real buzz out of growing vegetables. Our 'new' garden being beautifully and densely planted with flowers, there is little scope for the extent of vegetable growing to which she had been accustomed. Consequently, we bought an adjacent strip of field, about 150' x 40', from our neighbour farmer. This is unimproved grazing previously tromped by bullocks.

We plastic sheeted then rotovated the actual area destined for veg, and I am constructing the rabbit equivalent of the Maginot line around it, but now with the warmer weather the grass is busy growing everywhere else. My wife also has a bit of thing about clipping small patches of grass and 'doing the edges' and as her hands are already damaged by gardening and general wear & tear, I view this extension of her compulsive behavour with dismay. The ground is too bumpy and the areas where the grass grows are too small and separated, for a mower to be viable. In any event, it was never supposed to be a lawn. Thus I have been looking at something which I had always scorned, namely a strimmer.

The alternatives seem to be battery, or petrol. I am torn between a battery Bosch, or a petrol Husqvarna. My experience of battery garden tools is not encouraging, and I suspect that in even considering this option I am motivated by the selfish thought that she might use it and save me the bother.

Petrol or battery - what does the team think?

Ivor

 

[Gareth Hughes]

Scythe

 

[88v8]

In a fit of Agricultural Show enthusiasm, I bought an old scythe last year from a stall selling old agricultural and gardening paraphernalia.
An experiment taught me that:
a - it has to be razor-sharp and frequently resharpened as one proceeds
b - they're very difficult to use
c - it's no good for the veggie plot as the areas to be cut, although cumulatively large, are individually too small, narrow and fiddly.

Scythe for sale, many careful owners....

Ivor

 

[c r]

Hi

To answer your question I'm sure the battery ones are getting better with recent developments in types of battery, but still think they only would make sense in smaller town/ city gardens, with generally less vigorous types of grass, and where a petrol powered thing would be silly. Although your plot isn't acres and acres, its still sounds big enough for petrol to be a more sensible choice I think, or is it really only going to ever be small patches of grass? For tougher stemmed plants that you may wish/need to also keep in check like brambles, nettles etc you need a bit of power from the strimmer for it to work well

The proper old scythes are lovely tools, and great to use, but not so easy if you need to be precise close to vegetables! Have you considered the shears with long handles that you use standing up- these for example
http://www.sam-turner.co.uk/gardeni...-shears.html?gclid=CPit4p_TuLcCFfLHtAodjgwAng

In my experience of converting untended land into a veg plot, the best investment for me was with the 100gsm heavy duty woven 'landscaping fabric', and to keep ground that you are not wanting to use covered up with that. You say the land is unimproved, and it sounds like soil might be compacted too, and so a great way to add fertility and lighten the soil structure is to add stuff to the soil like manure, garden waste, leaves, wood twigs- anything natural really- and cover it with the fabric and leave for a year. Even better if you rotovate it in before covering up. When you come to uncover and use that bit of land it should be quite easy to work the soil, with very little if any of the roots remaining to claw out. The landscaping fabric saves a lot of time with weeding/maintenance of areas not covered with veg, and in my opinion still leaves things looking quite neat, but of course may not be appealing if you want the veg plot to be attractive in a 'natural' way, as well as productive.

If you mow/strim/cut the grass it just becomes denser and harder to dig/weed out, and the roots continue to get tougher and stronger even with top growth kept in check. Of course if you want the grass for visual effect or to create a path then thats good.

Anyway it sounds like you've prob thought of this sort of thing but just thought I'd say. Good luck!

 

[vicky whitworth]

Is it Ok to do this? Turn farmland into vegetable garden. A few years ago when we wanted to do exactly this we were told we would need planning permission for change of use for the land and that as it was 'prime' agricultural land it wouldn't be given. It was actually half an acre of scrappy grassed pony paddock.

 

[plasticpigeon]

Your secret's safe with me Ivor!

 

[LadyArowana]

Is it Ok to do this? Turn farmland into vegetable garden. A few years ago when we wanted to do exactly this we were told we would need planning permission for change of use for the land and that as it was 'prime' agricultural land it wouldn't be given. It was actually half an acre of scrappy grassed pony paddock.

I don't see why you couldn't be arable farming pixie sized "fields" of assorted vegetables, surely even the man from the ministry with his clipboard and anorak wouldn't have a problem with that :lol:

 

[Penners]

Petrol or battery - what does the team think?

Petrol. Battery ones (in my experience) just don't have the oomph that you need for heavy duty strimming.

I've got one of these:-

http://www.expresstools.co.uk/shop/garden-equipment/brush-cutters/ryobi-rbc30sbt-touch-start-petrol-682629.html?utm_source=google&utm_medium=base&utm_campaign=ExpressTools&gclid=CKCR48eRubcCFfMctAodKCMAoA

I'm delighted with it. One of the bugbears of 2-stroke engines is starting the bl**dy things, but this one has electric start, which makes life very easy. It has a nylon line trimming head and a brushcutter head.

 

[MdB]

Petrol with a brushcutter option every time.

 

[88v8]

Well, thankyou.

We did cover the veggie area with black agri plastic for about three months and it helped killing the grass, but the ground is clay and is indeed very compacted, even with a big rotavator it was hard work. I hadn't thought of covering the other grass patches, but as you say, the appearance is also an issue. Luckily we brought quite a lot of compost from our previous house, as there was no heap here, and until this year when we bought the plot we had no room to create our own heaps, but yes, plenty of stuff will need to be dug in.
We had a pair of long-handled shears, but that was in the days when the wife didn't have tendonitis or whatever it is, and I didn't have tennis elbow.

Change of use.... I know we'd need permiss (officially) to turn it into garden, but as it will be solely fruit n veg, I decided that this is still 'agricultural' and decided not to make a complaint.

Electric start strimmer... as someone who detests modern contraptions laden with superfluous gadgets, I should hate the idea, but thankyou very much.
I shall order one tomorrow. The whole exercise has already cost more than having Harrods veg delivered by a flying silver salver for the rest of our naturals, so another £220, pfffft !

Ivor

 

[c r]

compacted clay and grass, thats tough to deal with am sympathetic! As its the first year and theres prob so much to do all in one go, especially at this time of year, I'd still consider for a few months more laying down some fabric over at least some of what you've rotovated, just to buy you a bit of time whilst planting up/establishing other areas, rather than letting grass or weeds come back too strongly allover, and having to keep them in check.

Or could try some natural groundcovering plants-

Sowing batches of Alfalfa (might be called Lucerne in agri-merchants) would help with the clay and help shade the soil to stop weed seed germinating, you can leave it growing for years and years and if you do its very fine roots leave soil nice & friable quite far down

Comfrey is good too, will establish quickly if you can get hold of some roots

 

[Penners]

someone who detests modern contraptions laden with superfluous gadgets

The key word there is "superfluous". Like you, I suffer from joint problems (don't even ask me about my back), and I find repeatedly yanking on a starting cord very trying. Electric start is far from superfluous!

 

[worms]

Petrol with a brushcutter option every time.

Another vote for this!

I suffer from joint problems (don't even ask me about my back), and I find repeatedly yanking on a starting cord very trying.

My petrol strimmer has never been a problem to start (unlike my chain saw) so I wouldn't be arguing for paying extra for an electric start. However, even with the strap set correctly, I do find that using the strimmer is one of the sure-fire ways to a sore back!

 

[DJH]

I agree with you worms it must be up there with the worst things to give you backache...

I'd plump for a petrol version self start or not but I'd get a good make (Stihl or Husqvahna for example) and a straight shaft model which will give yiu an option to fit attachments like a hedge trimmer or small chainsaw for lopping high branches. That way you can get a number of functions from the machine and it will get more use so that it will start easier rather than if it's left in the shed for ages and the fuel goes stale.

Doug

 

[Moo]

It might be worth while to do a bit of deep hand-weeding on a few patches in order to find out whether or not you have any twitch- (aka goose-) grass. If you do, it will invade your vegetable beds with a vengeance!

 

[88v8]

Mmmm, thankyou again.
Last time I had a strimmer was in the 80s before we got a rotary mower that would cut the aberrant long stems on our 'lawn'. It was mains electric, a right pain.
The tool that gives me problems now is the hedge trimmer. We have less hedge to cut, but some of it is jolly hard to get at &/or wide, and requires holding the trimmer at arm's length - I have of course modified it for single-handed use - and that really knackerates my arm. That's mains electric as well, another pain but lighter than a petrol model.

Goosegrass... 'grows well in compacted soils', well we might have some. When a former field is left to grow, one realises the extent to which the cattle kept it down. Our main nuisance weed is Sticky Willy, as I think I've said before.

I've ordered the strimmer, more stuff to find room for, sigh...

Ivor

 

[worms]

For the difficult to reach bits of hedge... I recently impulse-bought one of these to use on the dreaded Leylandii. So far it to has proved to be surprisingly useful and works better than I had imagined it might. I don't have huge expectations of longevity from it but I am beginning to think it will see the job out.