Firstly, to quote David Bowie, we are "absolute beginners" when it comes to this kind of thing. Spring is almost here and we plan to work on our allotment for the first time in the coming weeks. Vegetables and assorted crops used to be grown here in the past but it has laid dormant for at least 6 years now and usually if it's not cut by late summer the weeds are 10 foot high. We know realistically in terms of man power we will not be able to work all of it this year (it includes raised beds at the bottom and also a greenhouse) but we would like to it least make a start on it. I'm presuming the soil quality will be rather good from all the mulch that has been lying on it over that period but we'd really like to go down the permaculture route and avoid ploughing/pesticides if necessary. The weeds seems very aggressive and I'm worried about spending all summer tending them. Does anyone have any ideas how we could as efficiently and eco-friendly as possible prepare the soil for planting garden crops/herbs/hedges etc - within the next month. I know sheet mulching is popular but I've heard you have to leave it for up to half a year and also it may be impractical doing this for the whole site with the man power we have available. Any ideas/advice met with warm smiles and appreciation
Thank you!
