Tag: #Weeding

Rainy day jobs

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Us gardeners have a love–hate relationship with the rain. We moan when there is too little of it, we moan when there is too much of it. We want it to rain for the benefit of our plants, but only when it’s convenient for us. Right now, we don’t have a lot of say in the matter. It’s raining (a lot), so we have to make the best of it.

Wet-garden
The frustration of yet another rainy day.

Not that I’m complaining. In the South, we’ve come through Storm Ciara and Storm Dennis relatively unscathed. A few puddles here and there is nothing compared to the devastation some people are dealing with, and my heart goes out to all those affected by the floods.

So, although the lawn is too squelchy (love that word!) to walk on and the heavy clay soil in some of my borders has become unworkable, there is still plenty I can do. Here are my top 5 rainy day activities.

1. Feed the birds

Birds require high-energy foods right now; not only do they need it to keep warm, but they are also building up reserves ready for nesting and breeding.

We put out a scoop of no-mess bird seed on each of our 3 bird tables every morning, and top up in the afternoon when we can. And we keep the bird feeders filled with nuts and fat balls. (Note I say ‘we’. As his and her gardening tasks go, this one’s a shared one.)

Blue tits - Big Garden Birdwatch
Birds welcome a helping hand at this time of year, so don a cagoule and fill up those feeders.

2. Start sowing

If you’ve got a shed, garage or greenhouse to shelter in, now is the time to start sowing vegetables and slow-germinating annuals. The young plants can then be planted outside when the soil starts to warm up.

Waiting for germination - seed trays
Tomatoes, chillis, aubergines, kale, salvia and sweet peas can all be started indoors now.

3. Weeding and pruning

I wouldn’t advise working in the garden if gale force winds are hurling things around, but if you’re feeling game, put on your woolies and waterproofs and get out there. You can do everything you do in a T-shirt and trainers in a cagoule and wellies instead, particularly if you’re only out there for 15 minutes at a time. Just avoid walking on waterlogged lawns and borders – it won’t do them any good.

the right clothing for wet weather gardening
With the right clothing, you can still get out there.

There’s plenty of pre-Spring pruning to do and if your soil isn’t too much of a sticky mess then you may be able to tackle some weeding from a solid footing on paths or patios.

I’m fortunate to have a large patio to work from, and my raised vegetable beds are surrounded by bark chippings, so no excuses there. The borders next to the lawn will have to wait though.

4. Get organised

Rainy days are a great opportunity to get organised.

  • Tidy the shed
  • Sort seeds and plan sowings
  • Order seeds and plug plants
  • Take an inventory of supplies
  • Plan your 2020 garden
42 perennial plug plants by post
Order plug plants now – there are a lot of bargains online.

5. Clean and maintain tools and pots

It’s a dull job, but if you’re at a loose end on a rainy day, then you could spend 15 minutes cleaning pots and tools. Also check that your hand tools are in tip top condition for the gardening season ahead. Oil and sharpen secateurs and loppers, and check you’ve got cord for your strimmer. Don’t forget to service your lawn mower too.

Clean-pots
Cleaning pots: a dull job on a dull day, but essential to prevent the spread of diseases.

And after all that, nothing beats settling down with some good reading material and a cuppa and picking up some tips from the experts.

Reading-material-gardening
Ah, so that’s the way to do it!!

Rampaging bittercress

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It has been an incredibly mild wet winter so far; ideal conditions for the spread of weeds. In my garden, the diminutive but exasperating hairy bittercress has been spreading unchecked.

Rampaging_bittercress
Hairy bittercress (Cardamine hirsuta) has made its presence known in my garden this winter

What does bittercress look like?

Hairy bittercress is a compact annual weed that grows in individual clumps, 3-5 cm tall. It grows out in a basal rosette with pinnate leaves (i.e. the leaves are arranged in pairs on either side of the stems). It has tiny insignificant white flowers that shoot up on stems above the rosette.

Bittercress-appearance
Bittercress grows in a basal rosette with pinnate leaves

How does it spread?

Hairy bittercress has a very short life cycle of 4-6 weeks. Given the right conditions, it will germinate at any time of year, although usually in Spring or Autumn. In this case, it has taken hold during a mild winter and is frost hardy enough to survive the few frosts we have had in the South in December and January.

After germination, it quickly produces clusters of tiny white cross-shaped flowers, and sets seed. Seed dispersal is explosive, sending the tiny seeds up to 1 metre away (or further in windy conditions), which then germinate. And so it continues. Before you know it, a few discrete clumps will have become an expansive mat across the soil surface, making it difficult to see what else is trying emerge this Spring.

Bittercress-spreads-quickly
Hairy Bittercress spreads quickly, forming expansive mats across the soil surface

How can you control it?

Pull it out when you see it, so that it doesn’t get the opportunity to set seed and take a hold. Obviously, I failed in this respect!

The good news is that hairy bittercress has shallow fibrous roots, making it very easy to remove with a hoe or hand trowel or fork. Dig gently and shallowly so that you don’t disturb the roots of other plants.

Bittercress-easy-to-remove
Hairy bittercress is easy to remove from the soil

So I’ve been removing it (15 minutes at a time) by hand trowel, and can now start to see what’s coming through in the borders.

Remove it from pots too

The seeds of hairy bittercress are very indiscriminate in their choice of landing place, so it has a nasty habit of popping up in pots too. In fact, that is often how it is introduced to gardens, in pots of plants purchased from the garden centre. If you see it, pull or lift it out quickly, before it has a chance to set seed.

Does it have any uses?

Hairy bittercress is a member of the mustard family (Brassicaceae) and as such is edible. Not that I’ve tried it, as all mine have been going in the garden refuse bag. Apparently it is not bitter at all, but mild and peppery.

The leaves are rich in vitamin C, calcium and magnesium, so once I’ve got on top of it in the garden, I may well give it a go on a sandwich!