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Weed!
By John | January 20, 2008
Weed!
The definition of a weed is ‘any plant growing in the wrong place’. This means anything from a tiny hairy bittercress seedling to a huge sycamore tree. It also covers some of the more invasive ‘garden’ plants, such as Cerastium tomentosum, which will take over a rock garden if not controlled. Weeds are ill-mannered thugs. They compete with more sedate, well-mannered plants for water, light and nutrients. There are two basic weed types, annual and perennial, each with its own plan of attack.
Annual weeds
The aim of annual weeds is to grow and set seed as quickly as possible. They grow from seed on any recently cultivated soil. Seeds can survive for years in the soil, waiting for the perfect conditions to grow. They germinate at lower temperatures than most garden plants, giving them a head start over rivals!
| Controlling annual weeds is relatively easy: |
- The trick is to recognise them at the seedling stage, so you can get on top of them without accidentally eliminating flower or vegetable seedlings.
- Most hoe or pull out easily even when they reach a good size. Put them on your compost heap, so long as they don’t have seed-heads.
Perennial weeds
Perennial weeds are more of a problem because they can live for several years. They survive the winter by storing food in their roots. These roots make them harder to get rid of than annual weeds. Some are difficult to dig out and others spread underground. If you leave even the tiniest piece of root in the soil when you dig them out, you’ll get a whole new plant. To control:
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