Is this feasible or a total waste of time?

[GGgrower]

I have a small area of land that has been unused for years. It was until recently part of a farmyard. It had 4ft high weeds on it predominantly nettles but also docks thistles and others.

Over the last few months it has been sprayed it with roundup and strimmed but the weeds still come back. I have also tried to burn it off.

I then started to dig it over but now the weeds are less I have found out it has masses of hardcore that was put in to help drainage when pigs were on the land years ago. Also it has a huge mat of thick nettle roots that are virtually impossible to dig out.

Is there anything at all that could grow in amongst the nettle roots. As an experiment I tried just clearing an 18" square and after over an hour gave up. Some of the roots are thicker than my finger and all intertwining around the hardcore. I think I now know why this bit of land has just been used for dumping rubbish on.


Is it worth spending time on, is there any strong hardy vegetables that can compete or will the nettles win?

[jlottie]

A bit of land for growing How long have you got it for would be my first question as it would be a shame to put in a lot of hard work for nothing. I took on a patch that was covered in brambles and like you had it sprayed with glyophosphate and strimmed. I had it dug over with a spader on the back of a small tractor which loosened a lot of the roots so I could dig them out. Nettles love a fertile soil so if you could clear them it would be worthwhile. How much do you want to do, it could be a long term project.