The eternal enemy! (From St Albans & Harpenden Review)

The eternal enemy!

8:56pm Sunday 21st March 2010

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The days are lengthening, the sun is shining and the temperatures are rising, at last we feel we can cope with getting to grips with the garden.

But, before we can get on with new planting we have to sort out any weeds that are now getting established. They really are all round survivors and will take over given the slightest chance. So, how do we define what is a weed? One answer that I think sums it up is ‘most uninvited plants that are in the wrong place’. Another question is ‘why is it necessary to get rid of weeds’? Quite simply because they will compete with your garden plants for nutrients, light and water and, possibly, introduce disease and pests into your garden.

Weeds fall into four categories, annual, biennial, perennial and woody. They will thrive in most soils and conditions but do need a different approach to get rid of them.

Firstly, annuals may only last for just one year but in that time they manage to produce thousands of seeds which given the opportunity will grow into thousands of plants. An old and true saying is ‘one year’s seeding is seven years’ weeding’ – a daunting thought. So the wise gardener makes sure they don’t have the opportunity to seed and removes them either with a hoe or by hand using a trowel. Most are shallow rooted so it isn’t too difficult, just time consuming.

Biennials are similar to annuals, only take longer to get round to setting its seed. Get rid of them in the first year.

A perennial is any weed that survives for more than two years and probably, given the chance, a lot longer. These can be really difficult to eradicate as they are likely to have long tenacious roots. They have the ability to regenerate from the smallest segment left in the ground. It is really important to make sure that every bit of the plant is removed. Dandelions, nettles, bindweed and ground elder come under this heading.

Lastly, woody weeds, real thugs and need tough treatment to get rid of them. Brambles and elder are two examples and left unchecked they will soon take over surrounding plants.

When you have sorted out all of the above it really pays to try and prevent further problems. All plants need light to grow so by laying coarse gravel round ornamental plants the weeds will be suppressed. If you don’t fancy gravel you can get the same result with chipped bark. Alternatively on uncultivated ground you can lay a landscape membrane and cut out planting holes where needed. This can also be covered with a decorative bark or gravel.

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