Weed them out!
Gardeners love the rain. It makes such a difference to plants and seems to do more for them than any amount of water delivered via a watering can or with a hose. After the late spring and earl summer showers we have been getting, your garden is probably bursting with life. And that brings us to the bane of all gardener’s lives – weeds. They too are seeding and happily sprouting all over the place in wonderful abandon, giving all but the most diligent of gardeners and HUGE headache.
It’s important to get on top of weeds as soon as you can, as if you let them flower and set seed, you’ll be really struggling to keep your garden from transforming into a jungle as the warmer, more humid weather continues.
So, what are our 5 best weed beating tips?
- Try a non-Glyphosate based weed killer like Sharpshooter or Slasher. They are biodegradable and non-residual, yet still have rapid action. Just aim carefully, as both are non-selective, so what you hit will be affected.
- Pull them out right at the base – a good tug should do the trick, and, as we have had so much rain, the soil is soft enough for the to come away easily.
- Scald them – no, not with choice words but with boiling water. It won’t work for weeds with persistent roots, like oxalis, but will for some annual weeds. Just be careful of the surrounding plants and yourself!
- Mow. It might seem strange, but regularly mowing your lawn will also remove any flowering / seeding weeds and stop them from spreading and setting more seeds.
- Mulch, mulch, mulch! Putting a 10cm thick layer of sugar cane or pine bark down can help smother your weeds and is a great way of keeping your soil coil and moist, helping your plants beat the summer heat.
Once the sting of summer has gone, come into our Garden Centre and chat to our green team about planting ground covers. This is easily the best way to stop weeds – by making sure there’s nowhere left for the to grow!
By Meredith Kirton
