Oh the shame of it!
I turn my back for a second and (with all the rain) the weeds have come from nowhere and engulfed my fruit garden. I can't believe how fast they've come up and I've been working so much I've had little time to deal with them. Because it was grassland before there's thousand of dock and nettle seedlings along with everything else I don't want.
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| Err, spot the fruit bush anyone? |
I decided to take action this week and every night I've been weeding, hoeing and raking. I think with a final push over the weekend I wont be too ashamed of my plot! I need to get some chickens soon - they'd love to peck at all the weeds I pull.
Anyone else let things get too far before they tackle them?
I am pretty lazy and I discovered long ago that I like the idea of a garden better than I like to garden. So, I have put a lot of thought into things like raised beds and straw bale gardens and pretty much anything to avoid the noise of a roto-tiller or the backache of the hoe.
ReplyDeleteI have put news papers and/or cardboard down between the rows so only the bare ground is exposed about the plants.
This conserves moisture and smothers the weeds. But is a breeding place for mice and slugs.
You can also make a small drag harrow out of spikes and angle iron and pull behind your riding lawnmower. This only works if the soil is loose and the weeds are small.
I am somewhat opposed to roto-tilling as I think it makes a compaction layer. I think If I was doing conventional gardening again I would try to lay out the garden so that you could pull some sort of chisel pointed one row cultivator to keep the center of the row clean and reserve the hoe for right around the plants.
We have been making raised beds for the last few years and they seem to work well. Lots of hand weeding however.
I'm sure it will all go better after a pint...
I was going to have it so I could roto-till between but so far haven't brought anything to do it with - was going to try and et a hoe attachment. And your right about the compaction layer but i get that between the rows where I walk a lot anyway.
ReplyDeleteI had raised beds at my last house and they were great for small scale gardening but there would have to be far too much wood involved for a veg patch this size
The cardboard is a good idea and one I've read about just never thought about. I might have to try this between the fruit bushes - I'll try and get some cardboard from work tomorrow! Cheers for the advice.
Oh yes....I'm always playing catch up!!
ReplyDeleteSue xx
I tried straw that I got from Budde for mulch, but it grew it's own crop. And the voles loved living in it! The main problem I have is that the weeds come up at the same time as the planted seeds and by the time I can tell them apart it's almost a lost cause.
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