[Paul Canning]

Right, just wondering what you all do when it comes to weeding?

with this weather we're having Im starting to see a lot of weed seedlings coming up between my rows and peas and tatties etc.

Now, what ive been doing is using the swoe on these just simply cutting under them and letting them dry and die but what do others do?

would you go over the plot picking them all out, some are tiny, or do as i do and leave them, or have you another way?

Some of my neighbours plots are farther on than mine and so are the weeds, it's like they're being ignored, perhaps til they get bigger and easier pulled? but to me they are competing for soil nutrients so thought they should be pulled early before becoming established?

[Paul Plots]

Hoe or swoe whenever you have the time. Choosing a dry weather period helps (easy at present) - the weed seedlings stand less chance of recovering when left there to dry out.

With a swoe you can get in close (mind the veg plant roots & stems as you know).

The only place I would hand weed would be close in to crops where the swoe wont go without damaging them. Also an onion hoe is great for speeding up close in work.

I prefer to get the weeds when they are small as it is easier than waiting until they've grown bigger. It all depends upon how much time you have I guess.

Good luck 

This old onion hoe is wonderful!

[Paul Canning]

Cheers learner, have to admit i love my swoe and the fact that i can stand up using it :-) whereas id do my back in with that onion hoe, looks a great bit of kit though!

[slow_worm]

I did some hand weeding inbetween my peas, radish and beets yesterday as they are in raised beds and its easy to get down to the level an see what is going on.  Its amazing how much you can't see from 5'10" away.  I did in between the spuds with my cultivator and earthed them up a bit more... i have other area that have black sheeting on them so I don't have to weed those bits.  I let the weeds I have pulled dry out completely and then compost them.

[savbo]

I use a dutch hoe where there's plenty of room but it's surprising how quickly you can weed the trickier bits with an old table knife...

[ex-cavator]

Swoe? What's that? New one on me .... 

[JayG]

Hoeing has got to be one of the easiest and most satisfying things you can do standing up (in the garden, that is!  )

With a sharp dutch hoe and in such dry conditions you can rapidly slice away all the weeds you can see, (and a  lot of the ones you can't yet see!)

Of course, there is always the odd dandelion or chickweed which decides to start growing just where you daren't go with the hoe so then it's out with the plank and down on hands and knees to remove the awkward little so and so's! 

[Paul Plots]

.............................so then it's out with the plank and down on hands and knees to remove the awkward little so and so's! 

Battering them to death with a plank is a new one on me!  Does it work?? 

[JayG]

Battering them to death with a plank is a new one on me!  Does it work?? 

Just one look at it scares them to death!   

[mumofstig]

I hoe, but manage to slice some of the crops too, because my technique is so good, NOT.

Still, it's a lot easier on the knees than hand weeding 

[Paul Canning]

Swoe? What's that? New one on me .... 

Like this



though mines got a wooden shaft not metal

[slow_worm]

looks like a sharp golf club!

[Kristen]

Only thing I would add is that, where it won't wreck an adjacent plant, I use a trowel / fork to loosen the soil around deep rooted weeds, like Thistles or Bindweed, so that I can get out a fair amount of root - which I hope weakens the plant more than just chopping its head off.

[Trillium]

I prefer to hand pull my weeds and get the whole root out, and when the plants are young and easier to pull whole. Right after a rainstorm is best as the soil will release roots easily. I bought a special hand trowel that has a long, narrow V shaped shaft which goes down deep beside roots and loosens them without breaking them so I can then pull.

My plants are quite close together and irregularly planted so this works best for me. Young plants can all be cleaned out in less than an hour, and I can later go in and hoe a bit to loosen soil for air, then I mulch, which helps a lot in my drier climate.

[alancas]

a small bricklayers  trowel is good for close in work.