[daz]

ok apart from the obvious pulling them all up by hand has anybody got any tips for weeding that dont include chemicals
i wouldnt say im totally organic but im trying my best but chemicals is a definate no no

[Clampit]

Keep the hoe going. If you can go round with the hoe regularly when the weeds are small it's a lot easier to keep on top of things in my opinion.

[daz]

so just regualy disturb the soild around the rest of the veg

[peapod]

The hoe will cut the weeds off (as long as its kept sharp) and the weeds will die if dried out in the sun or you can pick them up as you go along...this is for the 'usual' weeds, bindweed and mares tail need to be dug out at the roots :-(

Paula

[upert]

get the perennials out (as much as you can) and then lay weed suppressing fabric/black plastic down and the annuals wont be such a problem. that's what i've done and it works. mostly.

[Rampant_Weasel]

i prefer to use a handfork - so u can get the root out as well - saves hoeing again when the leaf resprouts

[compostqueen]

I've been hand weeding forever it would seem.  I like my hoe for open spaces but around the veggies I have to get up close and personal as I am optically challenged and keep slicing em off  :oops:

I think hand weeding, preferably following a good downpour, is an enjoyably mindless task. I do short stints as my knees ache    By the time you've finished it's time to start again  :roll:

[Bethslosttheplot]

Mine seems full of nettles, hundreds of little ones (I dug the huge ones out when I got the plot), anyway I have been hoeing my plot but even every day hoeing seems to do nothing to the nettles.

Now a mate of mine says 'ooohhh pull the blighters out by hand... every one' I would be there till midnight every day getting them out... will they reroot or die in the sun??

[Yorkie]

If the weather is dry for a couple of days after hoeing, the weeds should die off rather than re-root.  If it rains, or they had a decent amount of soil left on the roots, they will probably survive.

[crowndale]

I pull everything up by hand becoz the hoe always seems to miss the weeds and chop the veges, plus I have planted stuff too close to hoe properly.  But the weeds this year are just prolific on my plot (and many others on our site).  I took over a plot last november and there were loads of annuals that had gone to seed so I know i am doomed for many years to come, plus several plot holders don't weed their plots as often as they should so I share their weed seed too.  not too bad for perrneials though, except bind weed but thats mostly along the edges anyway.

[compostqueen]

they are a fact of life and you just have to get used to the idea.  I like the idea of a healthy loam so have to put up with the side effects    It all adds to the compost heap  

There are guys on our plots who take all their weeds away in the council's green bins.  All that stuff going to waste  

[dugless]

Hoeing alright but you must do it regularly miss a week and they are back two fold. I think it was Geffory Smith who said about weeds, the blighters pinched the goodness to grow so he composted them to give it back.

[nipper31]

they are a fact of life and you just have to get used to the idea.  I like the idea of a healthy loam so have to put up with the side effects    It all adds to the compost heap  

There are guys on our plots who take all their weeds away in the council's green bins.  All that stuff going to waste  

Do you compost your potato stalks and leaves too  :?:  I think it's been covered somewhere on here before that you shouldn't because of blight spreading ...

[compostqueen]

if they're healthy they go in. No blight here (yet, fingers crossed)

I don't compost diseased stuff, or couch rhizomes. Love to sizzle those