GARDENING Seven ways to beat weeds

WEED WAR WEAPONS?Pulling, rotating, transplanting, mulching and hoeing are among the best ways to combat weeds. 

Seven ways to beat weeds without chemicals


Growing
Hans Wieland

I think for this article we’ll take a little break from eating our weeds and concentrate on a few methods of controlling weeds without resorting to chemicals.
Some weeds are simply not edible (creeping buttercup, forget-me-nots, rose-bay-willow herb and dock) or are only good in green smoothies (cleavers). For us gardeners, there will always be the question of how far we will go in the battle against weeds and how much we will allow or accommodate wild plants in order to be in harmony with nature.
If we do accept that gardening does NOT know the adjectives ‘quick’ and ‘easy’, then we have to find the right strategies and tactics for winning the weed war. Remember, in the garden, we are the commanders. Incidentally, weed killers might seem to be quick and easy, but in truth they are not a solution, as weeds will outwit them and come back stronger.
So what can we do? The picture shows some of my favourite methods of battling with weeds:

Hoeing
Hoeing in dry, sunny conditions is a great way to battle weeds, get lots of exercise, Vitamin D and a sun tan. Most important for this method is to have the best-ever hoe, which in for me is the oscillating or Dutch swivel hoe.

Pulling
Pulling weeds in wet, damp conditions, surrounded by millions of midges is not so pleasant, although it is very effective. It is often the only way in a wet Irish summer.

Mulching
Mulching with fabric, newspaper and card board, grass cuttings, comfrey leaves and compost is a very effective way in winning battles. The caveat is you need to thoroughly prepare and manure your beds in advance of covering up and planting. If you think you can just throw a bit of plastic or mulching membrane or grass clippings on top of our weeds you are sorely mistaken. Perennial weeds will often succeed pushing through the mulch or just wait until the mulch is gone and reappear the year after.

Stale bed
The ‘stale bed method’ used early in the year is a very good and effective method to get on top of many annual weeds: Prepare your bed a few weeks in advance of planting and water lightly if necessary. The preparing and raking will have stimulated the weed seeds to life, so let them show and you can take them out through hoeing or even flame weeding.

Green manures
Using green manures to cover bare soil and as a consequence control and prevent weeds from growing is often talked about, but in my experience it really only works in a polytunnel. For example, I grow mustard in the polytunnel and cut it before flowering to leave as a green mulch before planting tomatoes.

Rotation
Rotation will help suppress weeds, especially a rotation between leafy vegetables like potatoes and cabbages (the so-called weed suppressing crops) and the thin-leaved vegetables like the leeks, carrots and onions (the so-called weed susceptible crops). In terms of planning a rotation with weed control in mind, the following is a good option: Cabbage in Year 1, onions in Year 2, potatoes in Year 3 and carrots in Year 4.

Transplants
My favourite war tactic in a Clausewitzian sense is using transplants, plants raised in modules up to six weeks old, before planting out. Together with the stale seed bed method and hoeing later on it is my most successful way to win the war against weeds. Those transplants, or older plants, are way ahead of the weedlings and are also much better equipped to fight pests, especially slugs and snails.
A word of warning: If you watch football three times a day, you will loose not only all the battles, but the war. Run out and weed at half-time. The best team will win!

‘Wild and Free’, The Organic Centre Garden Party, will be held on July 13. It will features the Top 10 edible weeds, also wild plants and wild food, a pop-up hedgerow bar, a master class in watering, the best shrubs and flowers for bees and butterflies, and wild food in The Grass Roof Café.

Hans Wieland is training manager at The Organic Centre, Rossinver, Co Leitrim, which offers courses, training and information on organic growing and cooking, and runs an Eco Shop and an online gardening store. For more information, visit www.theorganiccentre.ie.
Gardening questions or comments? Contact Hans at living@mayonews.ie.