Keeping on top of weeds.

I admit I don’t mind weeding but of course it’s easy for the weeds to take over and the job becomes huge and demoralising rather than an hour of gently teasing them out.

There are ways to help keep weeds at bay.

1 ~ Try not to let them seed. ‘One year’s seeds, seven years’ weeds’ as the saying goes. When things are getting out of hand and you don’t have much time, cut off  the seeding heads.

2 ~ Don’t add weed seeds to the compost (unless you are sure it’s going to get to a high enough temperature to kill them). I often find that after adding compost to a bed or border, weeds quickly start to take over. It can be a nice surprise. Last year Honesty started popping up all over one of my beds. But it can also be a nuisance if it’s Nettles and Dandelions. They spread fast enough without us helping them.

3 ~ Mulch. See above. Mulches cover the soil, supressing weed seeds and locking in moisture and nutrients. Things to use are homemade compost, manufactured compost, well rotted manure or mushroom compost.

4 ~ Hoe. Here it’s a case of do as I say, not as I do. I rarely hoe though I always mean to. Hoeing on a warm day means little weeds will be pulled up and quickly wilt on the surface of the soil. Regular hoeing keeps them at bay.

5 ~ Little and often. This goes for hoeing and hand weeding. I say this as  reminder to myself. Keeping on top of the weeds and not letting them get out of hand is the way forward. Whipping out small weeds when you see them is so much easier then having to use a large fork on a huge clump of nettles.

6 ~ My favourite is to pack in the plants so there is no room for weeds!

Also if you try and learn to identify weed seedlings, you won’t find yourself nurturing weeds fondly hoping they’ll turn into flowers.

We’ll see how it goes this year, I have good intentions.

26th August ~ out at 7am to get ahead of the heat. It was misty and damp and perfect. I cut down all the Larkspur and trimmed the whole edge of the first cutting bed, weeding and tidying as I went. I wish I’d done it last week before open day. Moving along close the the plants, I spotted seed heads to dry and seeds to collect. Pulling out these spent plants leaves gaps for new planting. I have plenty to plant but it’s too dry just now. Possible rain again this week.

27th August ~ It’s time to sort out the seed stash again and get started on the Autumn sowing. I’ve also bought a few new ones (of course) so a plan is needed.

28th August ~ Pricking out. I aim to keep on top of the pricking out of seedlings so they don’t get crowded and leggy whilst crammed in a pot together. Today Dianthus ‘Chaubad Marie Yellow’ and potting on Escholzia.

30th August ~ Lopping heads of Cosmos seems cruel but it ensures that the flowers keep coming. My aim is to remove any which haven’t been cut and used as soon as they have been pollinated by bees. The flowers last longer un-pollinated. There are still plenty around for the bees. Lucky bees to live here. Lucky me.

31st August ~ Creating buttonholes and table centres in a beautiful blue and white colour scheme. There is very little pale blue around in August so Cornflowers took centre stage with purple tones in the table centres. I loved them so hope the wedding party do too.

1st September ~ Another day out but before I went I spend half an hour sowing seeds. As well as growing for cutting, there are lots of areas in the garden I’d like to improve next year. Growing from seed is a cost effective way to produce a lot of plants. I’m sowing wild flowers for our grassy area, I hesitate to call it a meadow, as well as late vegetables and overwintering hardy annual flowers. Hopefully they will germinate quickly in the warm greenhouse.

During winter on the flower farm, it’s all about planning for a succession of flowers through the year. From the middle of February we can start sowing seeds, cautiously at first as, here, it’s still a long way to the last frost date. That’s the date that it’s safe to plant out tender plants. Half hardy annuals shouldn’t be started off yet, it’s important to be patient and wait a few weeks.

A few things can be sown earlier. These are a second sowing of sweet peas. Despite their delicate look, they are tough.

Some hardy annuals seeds were sown in Autumn and they are looking good now. As long as they get the right amount of light and water they will continue to grow slowly, ready to take off as the weather warms and the days lengthen.

Everyone knows that weeds start growing first but eagle eyes will notice self seeders start to pop up too. Not much is sown direct here but if Mother Nature wants to help we can’t complain. She does a better job anyway.

Hardy annuals seeds can be sown now. A little bit of warmth and good light will help them along. The aim is for strong, little plants growing slowly and steadily. If they don’t get enough light they will get too tall and weak.

Not much makes me happier than an little pot of seedlings enthusiastically bursting out of their seed coats.