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Tackling weeds organically
Jane Moore has some advice on showing your weeds who's in charge
Reproduced from July 07 issue of Gardeners' World magazine. This month's issue on sale now. Subscribe now by direct debit and save 25 per cent.
Ahh, June! It's a lovely month for gardeners - warm, wet and sunny, it's perfect growing weather. Unfortunately, all those nasty weeds love it too, so this is the time to stop them in their tracks.
Take your eye off the ball this month and you'll end up with fruit and veg choked with weeds. You'll also be storing up problems for later on, because healthy weeds flower and fruit extremely well, scattering their seeds far and wide to germinate for years to come.
Weeds are also a serious social faux pas because your allotment neighbours will see how vigorously your unchecked weeds are growing and be cursing you for condemning their own plots. Not ideal for a summer of neighbourly cultivation.
Be realistic
You need to get real right from the start. Unless you can visit your plot every day, it will never be weed-free. There is always one plot on any site that is pristine and perfectly free of weeds, but it will not be yours unless you are totally obsessed.
The thing with weeds is to root out the ones that are flowering or about to flower, as they'll be seeding all over the place in a day or two. When time is tight, I whizz around digging and pulling up anything that looks in imminent danger of seeding. I also clear around any young plants to make sure they get enough light and moisture to grow properly.
I try to work systematically through the plot after that, clearing each bed as I go and leaving the shrubby areas of fruit bushes and raspberries until last. These have large, established root systems and won't be threatened by a few weeds.
Early in the season I leave the nettle patch by the compost bin well alone, as nettles make extremely popular food for many butterfly and moth caterpillars. A good ecosystem means a healthy plot for an organic grower.
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