Watering | Weeding | Caring | Feeding

WEEDING

Karen's hot trade secrets to weeding your garden...

Weeding: Weeds compete with desirable plants for moisture, light, and nutrients. Annual weeds will often grow at a much faster rate than your cultivated plants, resulting in smothering the desirable plants.

MINIMISE SOIL DISTURBANCE

Weed seeds need light to germinate, digging your garden brings weed seeds that have remained dormant to the surface where they germinate when watered. To avoid this happening, keep digging to a minimum once you have established a good soil base.

NEW LAWNS AND VEGETABLE GARDENS

When sowing a new lawn or vegetable garden follow these easy steps for a weed free garden.

A. Spray with Glyphosate weed killer to kill grass and strong perennial weeds. Leave for 14 days.

B. Cultivate by digging over and breaking up any large clumps of soil. Then level the soil with a rake.

C. Water the soil evenly as if you have sown seed or planted vegetables in it. This will germinate the weed seeds you have brought to the surface.

D. Allow weeds to grow for 7-10 days. Now spray with Glyphosate. Wait 24 hours then sow your seeds or plant your vegetables.

E. You will have to lightly rake in your lawn seeds or dig small holes with a trowel to plant. Remember to keep soil disturbance to a minimum t avoid bringing up new weed seed.

Your lawn or vegetable garden will now grow weed free without competition.

NEW GARDENS

A. For new gardens spray lawn where garden is to go with Glyphosate and leave for 14 days [leave dead weeds to rot down as they add organic matter to the soil].

B. Now put good planting mix to a minimum depth of 150 mm. You will need to edge the garden with Koppers logs or Quick Kerb edging to stop planting mix from washing away.

C. Now plant using 100 mm to 150 mm size pots to avoid digging.

D. Water well. Lay wet newspaper on top of the soil and mulch to 100 mm, keeping mulch away from stems of plants.

This is a wonderfully easy way to establish a new garden with minimum maintenance and effort.

USING GLYPHOSATE

Glyphosate weed killer enters plants through green tissue and not the roots. To ensure good results water area to be sprayed 4 hours before spraying. Drought stressed plants will not take the chemical in.

Remember: Most weed seeds need light to germinate so keeping them in the dark will prevent germination.