[mrsbongo]

I am planning on using roundup to clear the lawn to extend my veg patch. I had intended on lifting the turf manually but a back injury prevents this .
Can I spray roundup now, then dig the whole lot over in around two weeks with plans to plant my seed potatoes around the 20th March.
Thanking you in advance.

[nemo]

if you are going to use round up you may be better off buying you veg in the supermarket. usually people grow their own to avoid chemical herbicides,not use them on your own veg patch.but each to their own.our local football club have a turf removing machine they use the turf to re sod their goals etc..maybe your local club might remove the turf for you.you get weed free soil and they get new grass for their goal mouths

nemo

[ormondsview]

My first suggestion would be to use black plastic, here are the pros and cons
http://chat.allotment.org.uk/index.php?topic=15032.0

generally, the slugs can get at them and you can't see them eat your base plants. Potatoes need to be turned, that is the soil needs mounding around them 3 times at least. So, once they've established and grown some, pull away the plastic, straw or whatever you used to keep weeds down and mound them with soil and manure mix.

Suggest though that if you have a bad back, it's worth paying someone to do the job for you. No sense in giving up the satisfaction of having a nice garden when you can't realistically do the labour yourself.

[mrsbongo]

Thanks both of you.
My back is improving, so I have manged to lift the turf manually in a few goes. I need to get out there today while it's still dry to dig over and remove stones (rocks in places!), dig in compost etc. It's not the digging thats the problem- it's the constant bending over and straightening. So I'll dig then sit on the ground for the stone removal. Not ideal but big strapping nephew is at school. It's still too cold to plant spuds and they're not quite ready yet, so once I've got the ground prepared I'm going to cover to raise ground temperature.

[cathd]

Another option is a raised bed- then you don't even have to lift the grass. Lay a few sheets thick of newspaper over the grass and put the wooden border over it. Fill with soil/ compost mix and start planting. With a raised bed you will have no major digging in the future, which will proptect your back, and if you buy new soil/ compost you'll have very few weeds your first year. There are even companies that will come and install the whole thing for you- filling and all. A more expensive option- but how do you value your back?
Another possibility is to use polybags or planters directly on the grass or soil. (or even on black plastic as suggested above.) There's another thread here with some great grow bags in a greenhouse.

[JennyS]

[cuemaster]

You should be careful with manure as well as it can be full of seeds that you don't want, I now mix with water and pour over plants, much easier than clearing weeds

[Jimbo]

Using roundup to clear a patch of land for the first time is perfectly ok. It breaks down in the soil with no adverse effects. Ideally you would keep it clear going forward using any of the other methods mentioned above, but if your back prevents a lot of digging i wouldnt hesitate to use it.