Allotments 4 All

First year on plot and I feel it is running away with me - or the weeds are anyway.   :o   I find it is just too hot and humid to do much up there at the moment - even in the evenings - but the weeds still keep growing of course.  When I do spend some time there it is impossible to weed properly as the ground is too hard.  I can hoe over the little weeds but some of these are great big thistles and teasels.  Should I just cut them down with shears do you think to keep them  in check or will I have to resort to Roundup?   ???

dont panic. i think everyone is haveing similar problems (well i certainly am!).  you have to think in terms of what my husband calls "quick wins". i go down whenever i can even if i only have a half hour to spare, and just weed for a half hour.  little and often.  thats for the beds that are planted up.  the really overgrown areas, i just dont look at. i will tackle them in the autumn when it is cooler.

On unmulched areas, I just push the hoe about to keep a dust mulch - perennial and annual weeds get treated alike. With as little rain as we're having, I think it's best to leave the soil undisturbed by deep weeding.
Like sarah says, don't fret - if you have a good covering of weeds, they are keeping moisture in the soil and around your plants til you're ready to deal with them :D

With tortuous weather like we are having at the moment, it seems absurd to stand or stoop out in it just to pull ruddy weeds. I am trying to use early mornings and late evenings where possible. Since my plot probably has more weeds than most  ;) I am now 'harvesting' weeds, as mulch and compost for my strawberry bed which will be planted up in September.

Well i weeded my pumpkin patch yesterday as I kept almost falling over the pumpkin plants as i couldnt tell those fromthe weeds LOL.

I raked the whole lot in rows, then went back over with gloves pulling out all the weeds, then raked over again to pick up the pulled out weeds.  It took me an hour to do 10m x 4m and at one point im sure the weeds were growing back as i was going over them.

I mostly have those thorny prickly weeds - thistles? dont know, i have no idea what is what unless its nettles or docks LOL

BUT by the end my pumpkin patch looked fabulous!

I hoe between my sweetcorn once a week which only takes 5 minutes and i plan on keeping on top of my pumpkin patch now i have it perfect.

Just need to start preparing some more beds for sowing and planting now.

I am greatly heartened reading this! It was almost dark when I was watering last night so I just pretended the weeds were plants! I had hoped that there would be less weeds in our second year but there seem to be more than ever. I also naively (?) thought that the black plastic which had been down for a couple of years would have killed off the weeds rather than just keep them warm ready to spring up as soon as they were uncovered! >:(

 :-\

Oh Amanda...am sooo glad you posted this! I have the same problem, some of mine are nearly at shoulder height. Next door plot is weedless, so I worry about mission creep by my weeds. Strategy? Pull up everything that is looking like it might flower and then blow seeds everywhere. Mostly I have Rose Bay Willow Herb so it comes out quite easily. With the big thistles I have attacked them with secateurs until later in the week when I can dig out the roots. My celeriac has disappeared under a mat of weeds, so that will be tackled later today (when it is cooler) and the rest when I can get to it.

Next year will be easier...won't it?

;)

I'm so glad it is not just me.
Horse tail is coming up like a forest through EVERYTHING! Have now given up trying to clear weeds from 'spare' bits ready for new veg. will plant in moe or less clear soil when I have harvested onoions etc. Have resorted to sheeting over badly weeded area, psychologically it works anyway! ::) mean time will enjoy soft fruits and beans.

Same here, Fat Hen just keeps coming. Our plot is large (150' x 30') and by the time we have reached the other end , where we started is knee high in weeds.

It's my 2 nd year and the annual weeds just seem to outgrow everything  :)

Confession time. Mrs DJB has just had a week off work and has spent the whole time weeding. Result.

I try to do a bit each day. It's bad in patches, especially among the Scorzonera, but it's a lot better than it normally is at GCSE marking time.

Quote from: djbrenton on July 02, 2006, 22:22:25
Confession time. Mrs DJB has just had a week off work and has spent the whole time weeding. Result.

Sounds like a fair swop for a constant supply of lovely veg djb. And I bet she has a wonderful tan too ;D

If you can do it - weeding when the weather is like this works well as the sun scorch'es the roots, and kills off the weeds even if they only been distrubed in the soil. A quick wizz round with a hoe works really well.

Did an hour this morning following last night's rain, but it soon got too hot. Bindweed is the real b*****r on my plot.

One problem with weeding, or more specifically hoeing, in the heat is it increases moisture loss from the soil.

I seem to got on top of most of the weeds at the moment but waiting for a bit of rain and the next crop will come along for sure.

Jerry

Quote from: sandersj89 on July 03, 2006, 15:04:10
One problem with weeding, or more specifically hoeing, in the heat is it increases moisture loss from the soil.

I thought the process of creating a 'dust mulch' was that it created a boundary layer which reduced moisture loss ...

That's what I was always taught.

Hmmm, not what I was taught by my Dad or at Agricultural College.

Their thinking, if I remember correctly, is that moisture will always move via capillary action into dry soil, disturbing the soil surface exposes this moisture and it is lost. Obviously this will also depend a lot on your soil type.

I will have to dig out my old soil mechanics text books to see if I can get the scientific view. They are lurking some place still.

I tend to try and avoid howing in a very hot prolonged dry spell like this one for this very reason. My plot neighbour goes out and hoes at least 3 times a week and his plot is a duct bowl compared to mine and he waters more than me.....

More research needed!

Jerry

Yes, doesn't make much sense to hoe in weather like this, I think. I wait until there's a rainy day and then hoe the day after.  As for weeding in this hot weather, I pick a bit around the plants and try to keep the perennial stuff down (snapping off stems, etc), otherwise I don't bother much. I just make sure all plants get enough water.
With bindweed you have to pull it up and then get rid of it - I throw mine under a carpet to deprive it of sunlight. I've used bark mulch this year as well to try and keep the water in around the plants. Otherwise it's like a desert!  :P

Capillary action? Surely you only get that with compacted soil?
But keep us informed, Jerry - might save us some work?

But do agree with hoeing in the heat - if hoed weeds are left on wet ground, they almost always re-root. And, in dry conditions, disturbed weed seeds don't have the moisture to germinate.