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The summer rain has brought with it a huge surge in the summer weed population that we
don’t see regularly. They need controlling or they become established as regulars to
reinfest each summer.
Most pernicious of these summer weeds is "Nutgrass" Cyperus rotundus. It
spreads by an underground runner and forms a bulb regularly that if pulled remains behind
to foster the next outbreak. Dig it carefully to remove small infestations and sieve all
the soil to make sure you get all the bulbs or spray with the knockdown herbicide
glyphosate at 10 mls per litre or two applications of 7 ml per litre eight weeks apart.
Another weed we only see occasionally in such a wet summer is the absolutely flat grey
leaf of "Red Caustic Creeper" Chamaesyce dallachyana (once known as Euphorbia
prostrata). It’s red stems bleed a milky white sap when crushed or pulled that causes
a dermatitis reaction to some folk. I wouldn’t waste glyphosate on it quite frankly,
because it is easily pulled out by hand in garden beds or chipped off in paths.
"Wireweed" Polygonum aviculare (called "Hogweed" in the eastern
states) is another common summer weed this year especially if you are digging or tilling
areas of the garden. It can be a brute to pull if it’s left to mature, because it
develops a very deep tough woody root, but it’s easily controlled by pulling when
young. If using a hoe to chip old plants off, make a deep chip (2cm deep) or it will
re-shoot from the stem.
"Purslane" or "Pigweed" (in the eastern states) Portulaca oleracea
is a flat succulent weed with yellow flowers and reddish stems that can be used as an
edible salad vegetable. It’s weed status is that it has shallow roots that deprive
your garden plants of moisture, as most weeds do, but this one is a real robber. Eat them
to oblivion!
If you now have a plastic bin full of hand-pulled weeds, don’t give them up to the
council’s green organics collection, make a liquid silage or ensilage of them. Fill
your plastic weed bin with water and add some chicken manure if available (no problems if
not) and let the lot brew with lid on for a few weeks then ladle the liquid out onto
grateful plants as a nutrient rich weed tea without viable weed seeds, because they got
compost ensilaged in the process.
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