Allotments 4 All

What is the best way to keep an allium bed weed-free/weeds-under-control. I have quite a few rows of spring onions all of which are tiny little blades of grass and getting smothered by the weeds while my back is turned.

My onions this year had to battle through weeds too. It's the first year on the plot, so no potatotes were grown on that patch last year to help out.

Any advice gratefully received :)?

Hi bennetsleg, mulch works well here for leeks - the odd bit of bindweed pops up but is easy to pull out. The joy is not having loads of annual weeds crowding out the seedlings cos they have been suppressed. If the bed is heavily mulched, pull the mulch back to sow the seeds as normal in the soil, making a drill etc. When the seedlings pop up, gradually tuck the mulch around them. Not 100 proof, but twinking the odd weed out is so much easier than trying to hoe the little things or handweed :)



Will be growing onions in a similar way - hope to get them in tomorrow!

I am a hand weeder as I have never been able to use a hoe efficiently, and I don't like to see all the chopped up weeds on the surface, HOWEVER, I have been practising with a hoe, and can now wield it like a champion, so today I handweeded close to my leeks, but between the rows, I hoehoehoed.  Spring onions are a b*gger as they are like thread when they first come through.  You need to keep them weed free to start otherwise the poor little mites will be smothered.

Quote from: EJ - Emma Jane on September 12, 2006, 23:47:57
  Spring onions are a b*gger as they are like thread when they first come through.  You need to keep them weed free to start otherwise the poor little mites will be smothered.

Tip I picked up here was to grow them in pots or modules & plant out when they're a decent size. I bless that tip 8)