By Lilydew
Dorset,
United Kingdom 
I'm a 70 year old lady and I have taken on an allotment and expected it to be overgrown and hard work to dig up the weeds, but this is a nightmare as the whole plot has been covered is carpet and black plastic, as well as weed suppressing fabric and perennial weeds and couch grass have grown on top of these.
This top layer is just like turf, difficult to break up and extremely heavy.
Can you advise me how best to tackle it? The turf is made up solidly of weed roots and I'm finding it difficult to separate it from the carpet and to lift it. What is the best way to dispose of it? I would be so grateful of any advice.
15 May, 2014
Answers
Julien, what wonderful information you have provided, It's a credit to you.
15 May, 2014
I would be tempted to cover most of it with more black plastic until you can get round to doing it and then at least it won't be getting any worse in the meantime. (It might need rough strimming first at this time of year if its grown tall)If you know a friendly farmer the heavy duty stuff they use for baling silage is ideal. For the area you are going to tackle I'd rough strim it, not too close, and treat it with glyphosate to kill the top growth. Leave enough topgrowth to absorb the glyphosate) You can use the strimmings to start your compost heap.They you'll be ready to follow Julien's great advice without worrying about your newly dug areas being infested with weed seeds from the wild part.
15 May, 2014
Thank you so much for all your positive helpful comments. I just needed to chat it over and the task seems much easier now that I have a plan. Lily
16 May, 2014
Hi i have two allotments myself, and one of my plots was a complete nightmare, it was over run with bind weed couch grass, geum etc and like yours had old carpets etc it had been neglected for many years, it has now been transformed into a walled topiary garden, and it took some time to get it right, could you speak to the committee and ask if they have a skip delivered sometime, ours have one once a year so you may be able to rid some of the carpets in there, now then your plot sounds daunting please dont get down about it, the best advice i can give is to start off a smallish area mark the area out and start to get it looking right go over it a few times so its weed free and a good tilth is achieved, then mark out another area and do the same but keep tickling the other over so no weeds get a hold, and then do the same down the rest of the plot, yes it takes time but by doing it this way you wont get dissilusioned with it and throw the towel in like many do, once you have got a small area prfect you can stand back with pride and you shall be inspired to continue, another way would be to get some family members in to speed things up, you may get some help from fellow plot holders too.
15 May, 2014