In the summertime when weather is hot the weeds come out to play! Keeping them at bay is so important in the veg patch for many reasons – they take nutrients from your veg plants, they provide a home for slugs and other pests, if they go to seed then they will reproduce incredibly quickly and soon will take over. The list goes on but follow our tips below and you’ll soon getĀ on top of them.
- When pulling weeds by hand, make sure you get the roots out wherever possible.
- Even if you don’t get the roots out (dandelion roots are notoriously tricky to pull out) by weeding regularly and not giving them the chance to see the light of day you will essentially starveĀ them of their energy supply and they will die out.
- Young, small weeds are much easier to remove than older, bigger weeds. That’s why it’s worth weeding more regularly – procrastination is not a good idea when it comes to weeds.
- It’s easier to pull weeds by hand when the ground is wet.
- Regular hoeing every few days will keep new growth at bay, and then you won’t have too many tough battles on your hands.
- It’s good to hoe on a dry, sunny day so that the weeds that are hoed up dry up rather than re-rooting.
- Cover empty spaces with a mulch or weed control membrane.
- Try not to disturb the soil too much – it’s only the weeds in the top couple of inches of soil that get enough sunlight to germinate, so you don’t want to go digging up the dormant seeds that lie deeper than this. Don’t hoe too deep, don’t dig unnecessarily.
- Don’t let them go to seed. If you’re short on time and your weeds are rapidly growing, then simply cut off their heads before they start to produce seeds. At least that way they won’t spread further.
- Dry weeds out before placing them in your compost bin to prevent them from living a second life there. See our composting guide for more on this.