[gillie]

You might like to get a look at this book:

Organic Gardening: The Natural No-dig Way by Charles Dowding

but you have still got to dig the perennial weeds out!

Arranging things so that you never tread on the cropped areas and compact the soil makes hoeing much easier.

Cheers,

Gillie

[Clover]

You might like to get a look at this book:

Organic Gardening: The Natural No-dig Way by Charles Dowding

You can read the whole part about the no-dig method in the introductory pages viewable on amazon.co.uk - he doesn't add anything after that introduction, which is disappointing if you buy the book.  (Although his seasonal growing advice is excellent).

I'm afraid his method doesn't work for me, partly being on an allotment I think and having no control over the adjacent environment, ie. wind blown seeds and creeping ones too from left right and centre.  If you put down nicely matured compost they will germinate/grow in it, which is why I use straw on top.

[gillie]

None of us have much control over the adjascent environment.  I get a lot of weed seeds such as willowherb and thistles blown in from hedgerows.

However I think Dowding's main argument is good - the more you disturb the soil the more weeds will germinate.

Cheers,

Gillie

[NASH]

I took over a rough plot this year, I did not dig it and I did not do much weeding as I grew everything on top of the ground after the weeds were killed with weed killer, I grew everything in well rotted farmyard manure and used weed matting in between and did not space things too close, I did make a 2" wide 10" deep trench and filled with compost  which I lined with plastic for my carrots so I had very few weeds with them. Try and find my no dig allotment thread as there is pictures with it too.

[pushrod]

My veg patch was a sea of green weeds this year (my first year) and I just haven't been able to keep on top of them (I work from home and also have a two year old child NOT in nursery, so I don't have as much time as I'd like for all this). I did do an awful lot of weeding though! I wasn't really able to stop them from taking over my onion patch, and they clearly didn't enjoy the competition. Managed to keep them off pretty much everything else, though. It was kind of disheartening at times though. I keep promising my other half that it'll be better next year. I don't really believe that, though....

you need to put a swing and sand pit on your veg patch - then you can take your little un there and do a bit of hoeing early in the morning. The sand pit will kill the weeds under it, and a little bit of spilt sand will improve drainage anyway. In no time your two old will be wanting a hoe of their own. Problem solved 

[Zippy]

With respect Zippy, I'll do what works for me.

You are right to correct me on that. Differences are what make us the mixed bunch we all are as allotmenteers. I apologise if my comments sounded opinionated.

[CaroM]

My veg patch was a sea of green weeds this year (my first year) and I just haven't been able to keep on top of them (I work from home and also have a two year old child NOT in nursery, so I don't have as much time as I'd like for all this). I did do an awful lot of weeding though! I wasn't really able to stop them from taking over my onion patch, and they clearly didn't enjoy the competition. Managed to keep them off pretty much everything else, though. It was kind of disheartening at times though. I keep promising my other half that it'll be better next year. I don't really believe that, though....

you need to put a swing and sand pit on your veg patch - then you can take your little un there and do a bit of hoeing early in the morning. The sand pit will kill the weeds under it, and a little bit of spilt sand will improve drainage anyway. In no time your two old will be wanting a hoe of their own. Problem solved 

Ha, sounds like a good plan! My daughter is actually pretty keen on digging already, the only trouble being that she digs up the things you *don't* want dug up...

[noshed]

flame gun? Has anyone tried?

[JayG]

Don't add to your weed problem by inadvertently sowing new ones by adding compost containing weed seeds; I am in fact one of the careless ones and have had tomatoes, various squashes, rocket,  to name just the identified seedlings springing up all over my plot where I added home-made compost.

(Of course if you are one of the lucky ones who gets their compost heaps to glow in the dark you probably will avoid this problem!)
  

[gillie]

"flame gun? Has anyone tried?"

Yes, though on the gravel drive, not on a vegetable patch.  

It was not terribly successful - the weeds need to be quite dry to get them to burn at all and then only the tops were scorched off and  the weeds grew back pretty quickly.  It would be no use for deep rooted perennial weeds.  Lugging this big Thing and its even larger gas cylinder was just about OK on the drive, it would not be at all easy on rough ground.

Gillie

[Yorkie]

Gillie's right about the flame gun.  It burns off only the top growth, the roots re-grow, and you've killed all the beneficial soil organisms in the process.

[RichardA]

 a neighbour of mine used a flame gun at home - set fire to grass and then his shed and then next door's twenty foot high leylandii - fire brigade, houses evacuated -- the whole works - he is a local councillor and always has his face in the papers - this time it was a bit red!!
Dont do it.
R

[Babstreefern]

If you can get a formula that kills only weeds permenantly, but lets veg/flowers grow, then you will be very rich indeed

[tode]

Haven't you seen my miracle weedkiller in the shops, Babs ?  It comes in a tiny little bottle with an eye-dropper, £24. Guaranteed one drop in a watering can, and you'll have no weeds for ten years. Its called Weedaway, or maybe MiracleFlor.       

[madcat]

a neighbour of mine used a flame gun at home - set fire to grass and then his shed and then next door's twenty foot high leylandii - fire brigade, houses evacuated -- the whole works - he is a local councillor and always has his face in the papers - this time it was a bit red!!

But it got rid of the leylandii ....  there was definately an upside.