Brambles are a food source for beneficial insects but because they grow so fast it is important to keep them under control
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Go Organic: Warm weather gives garden a boost
By James AshfordJune 29, 2012
The weekend’s warm sunshine is as welcome in the garden as it is everywhere else. It will give our vegetable crops a real boost.
But it will also give the weeds a kick-start.
I’m not one of those gardeners who get very precious about weeds.
Some of them, like nettles and brambles, are actually beneficial to insects and other wildlife, but because they grow so fast it is important to keep them under control.
Organic gardeners don’t use chemical weedkillers and so we have to find other ways to deal with them.
For practical purposes weeds fall into two main categories – annuals and perennials.
Annuals complete their entire life-cycle from seed to seed in one growing season. Perennials will survive the winter and grow again the following season.
At this time of the year the focus is on control rather than eradication. By interrupting the growing cycle of each plant you get the most effect for the least effort.
Now that the longest day has passed, annual weeds are in a race to set seed. And left unchecked they can set seed by the thousand.
Fortunately they are at their most visible when they are in flower so you can spot them and dispose of them before they get the chance.
If you catch them early they can go on the compost heap. If the seeds have already formed put them in the bin.
Perennials are trying to put on as much growth as possible to create the energy which will see them through the winter.
Cutting back this growth and pulling out as much root as possible won’t kill them but it will weaken the parent plant and make it less of a problem next year.
Don’t be tempted to add them to the general compost bin. They may well take root and thrive. You can compost them separately in black plastic bags.
To prevent weeds taking hold on unused ground, lay down a light-proof barrier and a thick mulch. Thick cardboard is ideal as it will break down over the winter and can be dug in to the soil next year.
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