A friend of mine, whose opinion I unfortunately trust, suggested to me that there needed to be a summary of some description that, while it left out all the bumf that I write, covered all the major points. In this way people could circumvent the long story and just focus on what to do. This is my attempt to do that!
Part 0
What is a weed? A weed is a plant out of place.
Why remove them? They compete with target plants and can act as a host for pests and diseases; they can cause allergies, dermatitis or physical damage and in some cases, poisoning. They can inhibit germination or growth of other plant species, cross-pollinate with target species and they can look like crap. (umm, have poor aesthetics). More detail here
Part 1 – know your weeds
Follow this process to discover what weeds you will be dealing with. Of particular help later on is to find out which are annual and which are perennial weeds.
Divide your weedy spaces up into manageable areas and then download a plant identification app if you are going to use one or get hold of some weed identification books. Go out into your weedy area and systematically identify all weeds in the area using your app and/or weed identification books. Then record all information (common and scientific names) on all weeds present. Once the area is complete, transfer the information to weed spreadsheet. Once you know what weeds you have you can research more about them with confidence. More detail here.
Part 2 – Assess your weeds (optional)
Look at each weed in turn and rate them on their invasiveness and persistence from 1 to 5 then multiply the two figures together to get the PITA score, then record that on your spreadsheet. This will help to identify which weeds will be a priority to treat first. More detail here.
Part 3 – Prevention is better than cure
Be aware that weed seeds and runners can be brought onto the property in materials bought in from off site, and by wind, water, animals or ourselves. They will also be some pre-existing weed seeds in the soil.
Strategies
To prevent weeds being brought in by materials imported from offsite – buy seeds from reputable suppliers, start seeds in punnets rather than direct sow. Consider buying shrubs and trees bare rooted, if not buying bare rooted, consider root washing. Consider using chooks to remove seeds from mulch, use mushroom compost rather than other amendments and/or compost amendments before using them. More detail here
In all cases research what you are bringing onto your property to identify problems first.
Where existing seeds are being dealt with – avoid cultivating the soil, use mulch on bare soil, apply water directly to where it’s needed rather than indiscriminate use of sprinklers, encourage ants which will feed on the weed seeds and keep an eye on bird roost areas. More detail here.
Part 4 – Weed control
General considerations – be knowledgeable about the weeds you are dealing with, and research the best ways of controlling each weed species. Apply controls when weeds are young and not established, or at least before they have had time to seed. Be aware of hazards and act appropriately, always keep an eye out for budding weed problems. Start from the edge of the weed patch and work inwards, and be realistic about what you can achieve and don’t kill yourself, but be thorough and don’t move on until the current patch completed. Don’t let spaces remain empty and be responsible, don’t let your weeds become your neighbours’ or the local bush’s problem. More detail here.
Physical control methods – These are broken down into a number of groups such as heat, barriers and physical removal. Heat includes solarisation or covering an area with plastic and killing weeds over an area with solar heat, or using targeted heat in the form of boiling water or a flame weeder. Barriers include plants used as a barrier, soil compaction or mulch to protect an area from weed invasion and physical removal is exactly what it sounds like – weeding, using various implements. More detail here.
Chemical control methods - I have tried a number of home made organic weedicide sprays and of all of them vinegar, with perhaps a small addition of dishwashing liquid to help it coat the leaves, is the most effective. Avoid all weed killers that contain salt as it will take a long time to wash through the soil and may inhibit plants growing where it is applied for a long time. There are others but most are not recommended. More detail here.
Cultural control methods - These techniques work by improving the ability of our target crops to compete more effectively with weed species. Cultural controls include using high quality seeds, planting well grown seedlings, planting them closely together. Where direct seeding is required using increased seeding rates. Maintaining good soil fertility and use techniques such as cover crops/green manures and crop rotation which are effective. The use of cleaning crops, animals such as chooks and interplanting are also good weed control techniques. While cultural techniques on their own will not control weeds they are effective techniques to include in weed control strategies and have many other side benefits as well. More detail here.
Part 5 – Maintenance
Weed management is a long term commitment and once they are under control, the system needs to be maintained to keep them under control. Maintenance activities include continuing to keep an eye out for potential weed infestations and remembering that prevention is still better than cure, making sure that activities to this end are continued. Also continue any cultural controls in place to reduce weed infestations in the long term. Recording your successes and failures is also worthwhile in the longer term so that if a problem weed raises its ugly head you will know what to do (and what not to do!). More detail here.
