new tree plantation

jimmy mac · Hawthorn Tree Joined: 13 Mar 2008 Posts: 79

Hi to everyone ,I am looking for some advice.I have decided to plant some trees at the back of the garden.I have 3 acres which is now overgrown with weeds and dont know where to start.I have been watching an estate being planted and it was started on a grass field with space left between rows for mowing.Question is is this grass neccessary or can i spray the ground and then plant.How do i keep the weeds away.I plan to do it a small bit at a time as all work will be done by hand and time is scarce .Any one have any advice for a novice cheers guys and gals

Sive · Posted: Tue Oct 06, 2009 11:00 am Post subject:

Keeping ground clear of weeds is a thankless job....it is easier to mow grass between trees, as long as you keep a decent-sized circle around each tree free of grass.

forest flame · Posted: Tue Oct 06, 2009 7:19 pm Post subject:

hi jimmy
you could spray the area with roundup on a dry day. this will keep the weeds down until the spring at least. then you could spray again when you see signs of weeds returning.if you have planted trees in the meantime dont worry as long as when you are spraying you dont hit the leaves. if the roundup gets on the stems or trunks it is not a problem once it doesnt get on the leaves

Guelder · Hazel Tree Joined: 20 Sep 2007 Posts: 14

Its a tricky one alright. If your doing it on a large scale (by garden standards) and it sounds like you are, then the round up might be the best bet. Not keen on the use of weed-killers, but in this case there's little option, so round-up is probably the answer.

You could let weeds and grass grow and avoid cutting completely. The weeds will compete for part of the year, but so long as they are allowed to reach maturity and die back down and suppress themselves. The worst thing to do is cut during the growing season, because that encourages them to vigorously grow again. You'd have to hand weed around the base of each tree though not as hard as it sounds, because the growth tends to be sparse enough if the surrounding grass and weeds are left to grow high and collapse. But this might be too much hassle for something on your scale.

I'd be interested to hear what trees you're thinking of planting.

medieval knievel · Sessile Oak Tree Joined: 03 Sep 2007 Posts: 318

one option would be to cut the grass and spread it around the base of each tree as a mulch, to suppress the weed growth.