[harry]

HELP
All of a sudden my plot is full of weeds they seem to appear overnite. What is the best way to deal with them. Should i just cut them down for the time being and then once my harvest is over spray with weed killer for next year.
I should point out this is my first year and i'm pleased that my peas, broad beans, spuds and sprouts are growing well but my onions are overwhelmed by the weeds but i'm not giving up.

[GreenOwl]

Handweed round your onions and use a hoe elsewhere.  If you handweed you pull them up including as much root as possible, hoeing cuts them off just under the soil, this kills annual weeds although sadly not perennial ones.  You shouldn't need to use weedkiller.  Weeds are a fact of life, weedkilling after your harvest won't stop weeds growing next year. 

[harry]

Its really the perrenial ones which are causing me a problem, some i've managed to pull up roots and all but others won't shift.

[Aidy]

hoe, hoe,hoe (no not santy clause) always weed ya onions on a windy day and never a still day, the fly aint strong enough to fly in windy conditions, if you disturb anything on the onion plant they will sniff it out, lay a few squillion eggs and your onions will be no more. A good hoe is invaluable.

[lesley1322]

if there is an area thats badly covered in perenials you could always try putting down the black weed suppressant material which will stop them getting any bigger for the time being and might even end up killing them off if you leave it down til next year... obviously this is only useful for the areas of the plot that you arnt using... the back of my plot is COVERED in ground elder and i've had to cover the entire bit which means its out of bounds this year.

what sort of perrenials are we talking about here anyway?

[Lewjam]

This happened to next doors plot - we spent weeks digging over our plot by hand, they retreated it and then planted up.  There plot now looks like a playing field

You just have to keep on top of the weeds - its a continual job and weed killer wont help

Lew

[compostqueen]

A few weeds among your veg won't do any harm and they do help camouflage em from pigeons    I do my weeding after a shower of rain as they come out easier. You need to just chill out when you're weeding - it's very therapeutic.  I give my weeds to my hens so it makes it a worthwhile job     I do one bed at a time and keep the main bulk of the weeds behind me as I work. That way I can't see the extent of the task in front of me. I think little and often is the key. Easier said than done though 

[chili]

Once you have hoe'd the weeds can you just leave them to die or is it advisable to pick them all up?

[peapod]

If they are perennial (horse tail or bind weed for example), and if they are large enough then pick them up.  These can root from the tiniest piece.  In reality though, its not always possible to pick them all up.