Topic: Whats a weed ?

[Flunky]

I need some help,

I have put in some leeks and carrotts. While paying attention to elsewhere. I have been invaded by weeds. I would be a champion weed grower.

My issue is this, I now want to tidy up aorund my rows but i dont now whats what. Can anyone point me the right direction as its very depressing to see the horrible little blighters in between my rows and dont want to "weed" out anything i shouldnt.

[albacore1854]

Carrots look like mini ferns, Leeks like little onions.

If in doubt leave it a bit, and wait until the differences are more significant.

Love frankenshed by the way.It thoroughly defines plotholding..

[Flunky]

many thanks.

Yes Frankenshed has been replaced by reclaim shed. It is now going to be a polyhouse. Getting some poly weekend to start it.

[betula]

O ne of the benefits  :)of sowing in straight rows is that you can quickly identify your plants.Also leave a reasonable space between rows.That way you can quickly draw a hoe down the space in between and take the heads off annual weeds.If it is a dry day leave them on the soil and they will quickly disappear.

[GrannieAnnie]

This year for some of the new things I planted where I wasn't sure how the seed leaf would appear, I  also seeded some in a little pot placed near those seeded directly in the ground. That way I can identify the strange one when it germinates. Seeds planted in a pot germinate slightly earlier than in the ground which helps.

[albacore1854]

many thanks.

Yes Frankenshed has been replaced by reclaim shed. It is now going to be a polyhouse. Getting some poly weekend to start it.

You might want to consider some diagonal bracing from the roof plate down to the floor plate.

When clad with timber or metal and fixed into uprights it will have a bracing effect.Poly will not provide that.

Be interested to know in time, how poly lasts on it, and your experiences of fixing it to Frankenshed.

[saddad]

Any plant growing in the wrong place... I find it difficult to weed out all the popies and Nigella from between my plants!
 ::)

[Flunky]

many thanks.

Yes Frankenshed has been replaced by reclaim shed. It is now going to be a polyhouse. Getting some poly weekend to start it.

You might want to consider some diagonal bracing from the roof plate down to the floor plate.

When clad with timber or metal and fixed into uprights it will have a bracing effect.Poly will not provide that.

Be interested to know in time, how poly lasts on it, and your experiences of fixing it to Frankenshed.

i am going to use cross braces and hold it in place with tacked on pieces of wood holding it in place. Sandwich poly between wood and braces and tacking it. Should spread the load of the poly moving.

[PurpleHeather]

It is a constant problem this. On the bright side if the weeds grow so will the seeds.

A few ideas you could try.

Leave the seed growing on a prepared bed a week or two until the weeds start to come up, rake them over, to kill most off, then plant. Previously uncultivated soil will be full of weed seeds.

When you cover the seeds, use shop bought compost from a bag. It is usually noticeably darker than the soil and will show where you can expect the seeds to come up and should be weed free, so you can gently run the hoe over other bit.

Put dry sand in a bottle and draw a line with the sand along both sides of the seeds, once they are covered (for bad eyesight, this can be done with the compost topping method.) Neat stripes.

Make sure when you design you seed rows that there is plenty of room between them for your hoe to fit with space for the seeds to develop or you will be doing a lot of hand weeding later.

A little extra time taken with preparation at the start can save a lot of time later on.

[Gazfoz]

If you attack a plant with a machette then spray it with a triple concentrated dose of Glyphos, blast it with a flame gun, bury a stick of dynamite next to it and light the blue touchpaper and the day after it is in flower I would suggest it may be a weed.
If however, you lovingly nurture a seedling, plant it in the best possble growing medium at the correct time of year and the merest suggestion of a slug, aphid or fly caues it to curl up and die then I would suggest it my be a crop ;D ;D

[Flunky]

If you attack a plant with a machette then spray it with a triple concentrated dose of Glyphos, blast it with a flame gun, bury a stick of dynamite next to it and light the blue touchpaper and the day after it is in flower I would suggest it may be a weed.
If however, you lovingly nurture a seedling, plant it in the best possble growing medium at the correct time of year and the merest suggestion of a slug, aphid or fly caues it to curl up and die then I would suggest it my be a crop ;D ;D

Seems about right  ;D

[Sparkly]

Make sure when you design you seed rows that there is plenty of room between them for your hoe to fit with space for the seeds to develop or you will be doing a lot of hand weeding later.

I second this! I had my shallot rows slightly too close together last year and hand weeding took ages!

[Busby]

Weeds, according to the views of Rudolf Steiner the originator of the Biological-Dynamic agricultural school, are nature's simple way of rebalancing and replacing missing elements in the ground. In other words weeds tell you what the ground lacks and they themselves, when dead, replace those elements.

This isn't as far-fetched as it may seem if you consider that artificial fertilised fields and garden beds don't have any dandelions or daisies in spring - and if you observe keenly you'll see that there are different types of weed each year.

Weeds also - in the absence of man - ensure that the ground is covered and so protected from the sun.