Tips on creating vegtable garden
boddybeautiful
Posts: 1
Hi,
I have a reasonably sized patch of garden id love to create into a vegtable patch as cheaply as possible.
Its currently over grown with grass, weeds, and some bramble. Iv begun digging it out but quickly realised it is going to take forever! I presume the brambles etc will need to be dug out no matter what. However, is there an easier way to sort the rest? I dont mind if i cant plant in it this year, i just want to get it ready and prepared.
Iv read some ideas about covering the area woth cardboard/newspaper and then placing a layer of compost or mulch on top. But do i have to pay out for compost? I have a compost bin, started today - so that could take a while! I do know where i can find wood chippings from a local tree surgeon for free, would this work? Pictures attached 
. Thanks in 
advance!
Posts
Wood chippings are OK for paths but will rob the veg patch of Nitrogen as they rot down.
Brambles you will have to dig out. I would spray the lot with glyphosate to totallt clear any perennial weeds before you start. It will then die down, but some like bindweed may need a second dose. Spend this summer getting it as clear as you can, with a view to planting next spring. The other thing you could do is to skim off all the turf, stack it upside down, and cover with black plastic. That will rot to give you a good loam. If you can get some maincrop potato tubers, it is a bit late, but plant one every two foot, they will produce a lot of top growth which will suppress weeds, and you get the advantage of plenty of potatoes. However it is a bit late and you may not be able to obtain seed potatoes. Do not plant potatoes from the supermarket, you may introduce virus and rots into your soil.
Yes there's an easier way (which is not to say no effort involved at all). Start here https://www.charlesdowding.co.uk/ and follow the links if it seems like something you could do