Winter Digging

[FredFromOssett]

There are some questions you are afraid to ask for fear of sounding stupid; but here goes anyway.
Having almost finished my winter digging before spring for the first time in 12 years, I find that, not surprisingly, the weed seedlings are rearing their ugly little heads on the plots dug 3 or 4 weeks ago. What does anyone else do about these? Do you hoe the soil periodically through winter to get rid of them; do you leave well alone, with the possibility of these producing seeds and aggravating the problem; do you selectively dig out any that look like flowering; or what?

[sally wright]

Dear Fred,
knock them off, anything you can kill now will be one less to deal with when you have crops in next year.
Remember, 1 years seeds = 7 years weeds.
Regards Sally Wright.

[glallotments]

We just hoe them off - once the weather gets colder they should stop growing as much. This year we are getting more weeds than usual of ground that has been turned over for winter.

If we get too many we just turn over with a mini tiller

[Monika]

I agree with Sally and GL - get rid before they flower (hairy bittercress will grow, flower and seed all through winter if you give it the chance!). Depending on the size of the area, it's also worth covering the soil with transparent plastic when it gets to spring, before you want to use the ground. That will create a warmer atmosphere, encourage the weeds and then you can hoe them off or dig them in.

[solway cropper]

You could, of course, dispense with the digging altogether and you will have less of a weed problem. I just cover bare patches of my plot with old cardboard weighted down with compost. The cardboard acts as a weed suppressant and rots down before spring when another layer of fine compost is added. This is just lightly raked over before planting.