May: Licensed to Kill (weeds)

Most of us would like our gardens to be paradise.

If you are anything like me you would prefer to achieve it without getting a bad back or using chemical weed killers.

I applaud those who can boast of chemical-free gardens and veg patches. I applaud and marvel. It is what I aspire to in my watery-eyed Eden where weed-killers should be cast out to the darkness along with petrol strimmers, plastic bags and certain newspapers. I do not however always have the luxury of time.

So this month's blog will cover the basics of using the main products on the market. I would also like to look at ways of keeping unwanted plants at bay. Weeds are, after all just plants in the places we don't want them.

Some chemical-free methods of keeping weeds away are to;

• Concrete your garden...but even then dandelions have a habit of returning
• Use a fork and trowel - sort it out by hand the good old fashioned way
• Dense planting. This technique has been widely used on the continent in public spaces and was used extensively in days of old when a gardening team would pack out wide borders with herbaceous plants. The thinking behind this method is that if you cover the soil with enough foliage and densely-packed plants the weeds will not get light or be able to compete for space. This is fine until you get bindweed, ground elder or couch grass appearing! You are best starting with a beautifully weed-free zone. 
• Lay a weed-suppressing mat over the soil. This can be disguised with bark chippings of gravel after you have made slits to put in your chosen plants. Again - for best results you need to start with a weed-free area.
• Stop fighting nature and tell your neighbours you are creating a natural wildlife habitat. Which would be entirely true.

If you are going to use chemicals then do make sure you use the right ones in the right conditions or you will be wasting your time, your money and possibly large parts of your garden.The key thing to find out is the ACTIVE INGREDIENT (AI). This, by law has to be displayed on the packaging.

So here are the main options for;

• General grass-like weeds appearing in paths, walls and driveways but also for bindweed, couch grass and ground-elder. Any product with the AI of Glyphosate  will do the job - most commonly it is marketed as "Round-up". The effects are not instant as the plant takes the AI into it's system through it's green material or white roots; it can take up to 3 weeks to kill a weed and is only effective in the growing season.

Glyphosate is probably the safest and least damaging Active Ingredient available. It is only effective on green material and is commonly used in school grounds. Within 3 hours the plant will have "ingested" it and then it becomes inactive when exposed to the elements. I was told in college that you could sip a bit and you would be ok...not that anyone tried it and please don't! 

• Nettles, brambles, docks and other course-leaved "thugs". These will need a tougher concoction. The most common AI for treating these weeds is Triclophyr as found in the product "SBK". It sounds nasty and it smells nasty - which is precisely what Health & Safety want. 

Follow the instructions carefully as nettles, for instance need a different dosage to brambles. The good news is that it is highly effective. Other types are;

• Selective Weedkillers that are designed to take out weeds like dock, dandelions and clover in lawns. The AI's are usually MCPA or Mecoprop-P and these are found in products that both feed the lawn as well as selectively weed-killing it.
• Residual weedkillers leave a film of chemicals that disable emerging seedlings on your path or driveway - unless you use them a lot and disturb the surface with cars, bicycles or pedestrian use. The AI is usually Difluflenican.

General guidelines;

NEVER use in windy weather - the spray will "drift"

NEVER use when children or pets are nearby that day - leave a space of half a day

NEVER use in very hot weather - the spray will evaporate and again, drift elsewhere

ALWAYS dispose of any waste sensibly - onto waste area/drive but not down your drain!

ALWAYS wash out your equipment

ALWAYS wash your hands and face after use

Well, that is an awful lot of technical stuff but given what CAN go wrong it really is worth taking the time to get it right. So on that note I would like to lighten the mood by leaving you with a picture of two "green" role models of our time; Derek & Eric  - the garden Gnomes and await their words of wisdom on the matter.