Weeds!

Weeds in a kitchen garden are inevitable, how do you expect them to resist freshly turned fertile soil?

The mild weather has now turned into penetrating heavy rain and the wet soil should not be worked. Digging saturated soil will lead to compaction and destroys the soil structure. However the last of my onion crop needs to be lifted before the wet weather causes rot, so I resort to lifting them with the fork and just forking out the worst of the weeds so that the ground is cleared and I can see that all the onions have been harvested.

Of more importance is removing any flowering weeds before the seed sets. Some weed seeds are particularly long lived. Dock seed can remain viable for 50 years or more and one seedhead can produce hundreds of seeds. If these are allowed to fall on the ground it will be impossible to remove them, but on the stalk one snip with the secateurs and the problem is resolved. Even on wet days the flowering stems can be removed and the roots can be dealt with later. Mix these stems with some grass cuttings when you add them to the compost heap and the heat should destroy any viable seed or rot them down in a bucket of water first.