A gardeners’ work is never done and this is perhaps more true of weed management than anything else. Weed management is a long term commitment and by keeping up with the maintenance tasks of your weed management program you can prevent (or at least head off) any weed resurgences. Most of these have been discussed before, but it is worth mentioning them again in the context of continuing actions.
- Prevention is still better than cure
Avoid bringing weeds onto your site by getting your seed from reputable suppliers, planting into punnets where appropriate and not buying/bringing weed species into your yard or when buying mulches etc. Also avoid leaving open spaces and cultivating the soil to stop weed seeds already existing from germinating. Make sure you check yourself over when return from a walk in the bush, just to make sure you (or your pets) are not bringing weed seeds with you!
Always check for cobbler's pegs!
- Regular observation
This is one of the most valuable tools in your weed maintenance arsenal. Keeping a regular eye out, at all times of year is always worthwhile, so you can identify where weeds are starting to become a problem. Treating weeds earlier rather than later means that not only have you hit them before they can mount a serious attack, but smaller, less established weeds are easier to treat than established weeds. Perennial weeds can be especially troublesome once established.
- Know your enemy!
If you have new weeds crop up, check them out and research them. Are there any characteristics of this weed not seen before, which might require modifying control strategies?
- Cultural controls
Keep up to date on cultural controls over time. As mentioned previously, while they are unlikely to totally control your weeds in and of themselves, they will generally make your yard less attractive to weeds and slow down their establishment, making the easier to control. Do this by using practices such as maintaining soil fertility, using of covers crops/green manures, and cleaning crops, following crop rotations, using animals and interplanting.
- Record successes and failures
When researching your weeds and experimenting with the various methods of weed control, record what you find out and your weed management successes and failures. This can help you next time a particular weed becomes a problem, as you will have some idea where to start and what worked (and didn’t) last time.
A Bullet Journal can be a great way of recording your observations
- Look after your tools
….and any equipment that you use in your weed management efforts, whether it is keeping any sharp implements sharp, any sprayers clean and ready to go or making sure your flame weeder gas bottle is full and in date. Make sure that tools and equipment are stored securely under cover, they will be well protected against corrosion and ‘unauthorised use’. Keeping things up to date will make it easier when you need those tools and equipment next time.
