Weed control saves hours

Waimarino Bulletin, Volume 5, Issue 21, 20 October 1987, Page 12

Weed control saves hours

It seems winter again is with us and for the last week or so all the work we had planned to do in the garden has had to wait for awhile. We managed to dodge the rain for an hour or so to clear away the grass and weed growing under the front fence and in its place planted clumps of Aubretia interspersed with white Allysum. This will make quite an attractive edge and as the Aubretia thickens into larger clumps will help to keep the weeds under control. Warm sunshine after all the rain will see the weeds springing up in full force and hours of work required to clear them unless some form of weed control is used. A mulch of organic matter spread on the surface of the soil around the plants will help to control the growth

of weed, add nutrients to the soil and will conserve moisture in the soil in dry weather. Well decayed animal manure, straw, or untreated sawdust can all be used as a mulch or, more readily available to most of us, lawn clippings. If fresh lawn clippings are used add a few handfuls of Blood and Bone to help replace the nitrogen they will leach from the soil in the rotting down process. The mulch should not be spread too thickly. Four or five centimetres in depth is quite adequate and will be quite effective in suppressing weeds. A popular mulch used nowadays is bark chips. These should not be used while fresh as the acid in the bark will damage the young roots of the plants, retard growth and in some cases actually kill the plant. If the chips are fresh leave them in a heap for two or three months to 'Weather' before use. This process can be speeded up a little by thoroughly hosing the heap if the weather is dry and turning several times with a spade. An effective and attractive method of weed control is

the use of ground cover plants. Ajugas are very ornamental and fast growing, some with attractive variegated leaf form. The blue spires of flower in early summer make a very colourful carpet. The various forms of thyme, cammomiles, nerembergia all make good ground cover and some of the prostrate forms of rosemary, cotoneaster and spreading conifers for the larger areas will form a dense carpet totally suppressing weeds. Some types of roses of the rambling variety can be used as ground covers for larger areas and can be quite a feature in an otherwise difficult area of the garden. Rockery phlox, aubretia, thrift, will spread into wide dense clumps, very useful as weed control. Don't forget to enter your garden in the annual garden competition organised by the Ohakune Garden Circle. Entry is free and the closing date for entries is 31 October. Prizes of shrubs and plants for your garden will be awarded to the winning gardeners for new gardens (up to three years old) and for established gardens.