Weeds- hoe or dig?

[caroline7758]

My plot has been swamped with weeds after the rain. Obviously where plants are growing it's better to hoe to avoid disturbing roots, but what about elsewhere? I pulled and dug a lot of bindweed and couch out this morning but wondered if Iwas doing more harm than good because I was bringing the damp soil to the surface.

Also, if hoeing weeds that are flowering, is it best to leave them on the surface as a mulch or get rid of them so that the seeds don't blow around or sow themselves?

Or is it not worth worrying about? ::)

[caroline7758]

[Tee Gee]

Or is it not worth worrying about?

I think this ls very much down to the individual concerned!

This is how I would go about it;

Obviously where plants are growing it's better to hoe to avoid disturbing roots,  .....is it best to leave them on the surface

In areas that are 'growing' as you put it, I tend to do both hand removal and hoeing.

That is; firstly I hoe between the rows and remove the debris with a rake.

Then I get down on my knees and go along the rows carefully removing as many of the weeds growing along the row as I can trying not to disturb what I am growing in the process.

but what about elsewhere?

I pulled and dug a lot of bindweed and couch  -  I was bringing the damp soil to the surface.

Do you mean where nothing is growing?

If so dig the area over, remove as much of the couch and bindweed as you can forget about exposing damp soil it will soon get wet again.

[caroline7758]

Thanks for the reassurance, TeeGee. It's certainly looking as if we are going to get a shower this evening.

[pigeonseed]

Yes I compost them mostly. I don't hoe much, as the clay soil gets so hard, it just seems easier to use a trowel.

How do you bring up weeds close to plants? I have a small metal thing that looks like a cross between a trowel and a dibber, someone gave it to me with a load of gardening tools. It seems good for cutting out a deep-rooting weed from right next to a veg plant. But I still fear I am likely to damage the veg roots.

It's hard to know what to do - leave a thistle or a bramble and it will pull up your onion/radish/strawberry anyway!

What do you do teegee and caroline?

[Columbus]

Hi Caroline, Hi all  :)

Whilst crops are growing in rows I try to get weeds out before they release seed and don`t leave them lying around, as I think that will save me work in the long term. I hoe between rows and hand weed in the rows. I pull out bind weed roots as much as possible but the green parts seem quite weak and will shrivel quickly if left in the sun so if theres a risk of damage to crops I just leave the seperated stems in place. If theres a risk to crops I may just cut a weed off at the base to weaken it.
In my pumpkin patch the pumpkins are the biggest plants growing and no weed can  out-muscle them so I stay off the wet soil.
In the autumn and winter and before planting I make a point of removing all deep rooted weeds that attempt to grow so I`ve just about eradicated docks and dandelions. I weed thoroughly about a week before before planting and again before I put the seed in but I have big problems with bindeed.

You can never get out all the weeds but you can always get out just one more. Col

[lincsyokel2]

Do them both, its called Doeing......or Higging   8)