Kitchen Garden Forum

Oh dear Pillbug. It seems as though you're having a tough year for seedling weeds. There must be something about the conditions there that's making it ideal for the seeds to germinate. Or maybe you had a lot of weeds going to seed last year?
I used to have a relatively weedfree garden but three years ago, in the hot summer of 2003 I was heavily pregnant and just couldn't bear the heat. Loads of weeds went to seed in my beds and I've been paying the price ever since.
While a JCB is tempting, it'd take off the best part of the soil, that at the top.
Johnboy, I don't have a great deal of experience with rosebay willowherb, except the plant that I lovingly tended and planted out, thinking it was the lone germination in a pot of perennial seeds (well, it was the lone germination, just not of any seeds I'D put in there!). This is another one of those weeds that's so pretty it seems a shame to kill them. You know my usual methods - deprive them of light for a season or two, or cut them down every week. The willowherb I carefully planted in my border poked its head above soil two or three times a year for 2 or 3 years so it's tough stuff.

Hi Jenny,
I certainly is pretty and it normally doesn't venture into the garden as we have plenty up the hill and the wind never used to blow from that area but last year it must have. It is an area that is not normally cultivated but I cleared it to grow Pumpkins on Peterf's Giant Pumpkin Growing Scheme.
Sadly they were all destroyed in a violent hale storm followed by almost hurricane force winds and after being riddle by hail they were a blown into the hedge. Totally buggered up. Fortunately I didn't sow all the seeds so have enough to try again next year and by then a wind break will be in place!!
Quite honestly it is not really bothering me and I think just for once I will allow beauty to reign and as soon as they finish flowering I will do the dirty deed and cut them down then. The only snag with that is they produce rhizomes but I'll cross that bridge when I come to it.

I expect some of the weeds are because of all the digging that has gone on this year and maybe imported in the horse manure.I also have to admit to letting some thistles in a wild patch flower because it was covered in hoverflies.I expected more dandelions as my 3 year old likes blowing the clocks,on the plus side she can identify nettles and thistles!

My plot is nettle free pillbug - I got some nettle seed and sowed them by the fence, cos they make such a great tea and addition to the compost heap (not to mention an early 'spinach' for the household)

Hi Pillbug,
I must hasten to add the the JCB episode was because the Ferns and Buttercups had been growing unchecked for more than 20 years and the roots were more than a foot thick. I actually only scraped down to the original surface and composted everything and it all eventually went back into the plot.
You say that you are getting masses of weeds this year and have been covering with all manner of thing but the one thing covering will never do and that is to kill off seeds existing in the soil and as soon as uncover off they go. The old saying one years seeds is seven years weeds is just about right.
Most of the weed seeds that germinate can be easily dealt with by the use of a Hoe. If they are caught young enough that is the end to them. The trouble is that now that what I classify as 'Best Practice Methods' are being ignored by unorthodoxy the Hoe is losing favour. To me it is the most valuable tool in the gardeners armoury and quite what I would do without one I cannot contemplate. In the past on this forum there have been people proud to say that they do not even own one.
As for growing nettles from seed Sprout well I am flabbergasted. Who's fence do you grow them against and is that not going to affect your neighbour?
The roots of nettles will go under the fence and if there is a neighbour it is not exactly a friendly act is it. Of course I might have that all wrong but perhaps we will have your assurances.

I do indeed own a hoe,it has seen a lot of action this year as little heaps of desicating weeds atest,it`s v. good in this hot weather.At least these are seedling and come up easily and one day these beds will only be dug over occasionally,when we`ve added enough horse muck and compost to improve the texture.

Allan wrote:Did somebody mention OT?Allan

Don't understand.. what OT?

.

Johnboy wrote:Hi Jenny,
I certainly is pretty..... but I'll cross that bridge when I come to it.

My my, quoting out of context here Johnboy gives an interesting twist.

Am getting rather worried about all this talk on bindweed because this year I planted some Morning Glory seeds (believing them to be annuals) which have produced some spectacular deep purple flowers.

Am now rather disconcerted because I've discovered they're part of the bindweed family and already they seem to have multiplied and I have purple flowers intertwining with my tomato plants.

Am I going to live to regret this and should I be yanking the plants out now to prevent problems later?

I'm pretty sure you have nothing to worry about as the frost will kill them off. I grew them once and although there were plenty of them nothing grew back.

Hi Primrose,
As Cantal says you have nothing to fear.Although they are in the same family they are strictly Annuals and also they do not set viable seed in these climbes. However with this year and all the very hot weather they could just make me out to be incorrect. However they would never become as invasive as their relatives.
JB.

Hi Primrose,
As Cantal says you have nothing to fear. Although they are in the same family as Bindweed they are strictly Annuals and also they do not set viable seed in these climbes. However with this year and all the very hot weather they could just make me out to be incorrect. However they would never become as invasive as their relatives.
JB.

Bringing htis BTTT, as I am currently partway through clearing a deeply infested half-plot.
Firstly I covered about a third of the plot in plastic, just to limit the size of the task.
Secondly I sprayed glyphosphate over one section and after four weeks dug in the late Autum. It was like digging spaghetti! I oulled out all the root that I could, knowing that I would not clear the lot, but clearing even half means there is half the regrowth.
I plan to put spuds into this ground, because that means it will be dug twice more this season, and that will allow me to clear more of the blessed stuff out.
Two questions really:-
One:- timing any spraying. Will I have time to spray before I put the spuds in?
Or do I have to wait untill I have got them out?
Two:- Is there an alternative to burning the roots? Can I leave them to dry out on the plastic then compost? Can I compost, then spray the heep if there is growth out of it?
Thanks in advance.

Hi Stephen

Take my advice and put the roots into a bin bag and take to the local dump. I've tried burning and leaving the buggers to dry out in the sun.

Doesn't work mate so take them the dump. It's the only way really. I've been battling for 5 years and I now have only 2 patches left as opposed to the whole plot.

I also found that if you let it grow, then break the stems off so that there's about 3 inches above ground, then spray the weedkiller seems to do the job better.

Also, with the dilution I tripled it to what it said on the instructions. I'd spray about 4 weeks before planting your spuds to give it time to die back. Once the spuds are in I wouldn't do it in case the weedkiller got into the spuds.

Good luck.....keep going. You will get there in the end.

Hi Lizzie
Thanks for the advice and encouragement.
Always welcome.