Bindweed Grow bindweed up a stick and treat with glyphosate

Perennial sowthistle Long underground root Can regrow from fragments Removal of root after digging then pulling out shoots or hoeing deplete roots of food. Control Fortnightly hoeing

Horsetail Releases 100,000 spores in spring need moist and specific conditions to grow

Horsetail Has roots and tubers Maximum shoot growth July 10 cm length rhizome can produce 64m in one year! Regrows from roots and tubers Can pierce plastic mulching Control Persistent stem cutting, drought, competitive tall crops. 25+ years hoeing

Couch Roots with buds Buds produce new shoots Shoot buds at nodes Roots with buds Buds produce new shoots Longer root fragments reshoot more readily Couch in path re-infests Seed also important Control Dig out at 3-4 leaf stage Remove rhizomes when soil is dryer, dry out to kill

Nettles Perennial nettle Annual nettle

Stinging nettle root Coarse and often long yellow tough root Dig out and pull up runners Wear gloves

Creeping thistle root Brittle Regenerates from top 12” (30cm) Undisturbed fragments grow years later Control Remove top 12” root

Grasses Broad leaved plants

Small weeds are easier to control

Hoe early, on a dry day

Planting arrangements Make sure row width is wider than the hoe Arrangement make hoeing difficult

Management Remove fruiting heads Feb Mar Apr Jan May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Hoe Weeds grow strongly remove large plants Remove fruiting heads Remove roots Keep hoeing

What to do with the weeds Leave them on the soil Add them to the compost heap (heat destroys seeds) Perennial weeds – Can regenerate in the heap Put in a bucket of water to rot down Leave to dry out in the sun Put in the green bin

Mulches Black weed control fabric or others cardboard Months or year Grow cucurbits through it cardboard Green waste compost or home made Minimum 2 inches thick – 4-6 inches Cover crop and green mulch slugs

Plot hygiene Check around the plots Let plants flower (bees) but not set seed

Herbicides Contact Systemic

Herbicides Crop / Uses Lawn Ornamental garden plants Active ingredients Fatty acids Ferrous sulphate MCPA Mecoprop-P Flufenacet Glyphosate Metosulam Dicamba Dichloprop-P diquat Clopyralid Triclopyr 2,4-D Acetic acid Herbicides Crop / Uses Lawn Ornamental garden plants Unwanted vegetation areas not intended to bear vegetation hard surfaces natural surfaces not intended to bear vegetation permeable surfaces overlying soil

Glyphosate Still available Awaiting decision from EU Not been banned Some places don’t sell it Don’t spray crops/garden plants with it

Home made herbicide 3.3 pints of vinegar ½ cup of salt (4oz) 2 tablespoons of washing up liquid This is still a chemical mixture. Use it neat Should be as effective as glyphosate – BUT Contact not systemic

Remember it’s always Christmas in the garden Hoe, Hoe, Hoe

Any questions?