Weeding in my Fruit Bed

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vegemum
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Weeding in my Fruit Bed

Post by vegemum »

Hello, we have a bed of fruit bushes on our allotment - blackcurrants, raspberries and redcurrants. Unfortunately, the bed is also covered with weeds, the worst of which is established couch grass. We would prefer not to move the fruit bushes. We usually dig out couch in other areas of the allotment but with the fruit bush roots being so near to the surface this would not seem to be practical. We thought about using weed control matting, but this would then prevent new fruit bush shoots from growing. Does anyone have any advice? Thank you.
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lancashire lass
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Re: Weeding in my Fruit Bed

Post by lancashire lass »

Blackcurrants and redcurrants will be fine if you use weed suppressant membrane as they don't send runners up, and in my opinion the bushes will benefit from better air circulation without the weeds underneath which potentially harbour and protect pests and the increased humidity with risk of fungi and moulds such as mildew.

The alternate is to wait until late autumn / winter / early spring when the bushes and raspberry canes are dormant (VERY important!) and then you can use something like glyphosate weedkiller. You do need to time it right and watch for the weather conditions - grasses tend to still grow even in mid-winter but obviously much more slowly than in summer. A mild winter will see them still green and that's when you can apply the weedkiller, but do choose a dry spell so that it has a longer time to be absorbed by the plant (late autumn might be best as bushes lose their leaves but the grasses are still actively growing) Watch out for buds on your fruit bushes and canes and avoid contaminating them, but generally if any gets accidently sprayed on the bark it should be safe. Obviously the die-back will be much slower than normal due to lower temperatures but it does work on couch grass.

However, clearing the couch grass does not stop other weed seeds from germinating - often the case, more weeds seem to appear when the ground is more open so be vigilant and keep on top of it. You could try putting a dense mulch down (like leaves/grass cuttings - at least 6 inch deep or more) before they germinate and this will also conserve moisture in the soil which raspberries will appreciate. Mulch doesn't work very well on established weeds and grasses as they merely push up through it.
vegemum
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Re: Weeding in my Fruit Bed

Post by vegemum »

Thanks for your suggestions, I think we will try weeding in autumn and apply a deep mulch.
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fishpond
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Re: Weeding in my Fruit Bed

Post by fishpond »

Wait until the plants are dormant.(winter)
Carefully remove them with roots attached.
Dig over the area, removing all trace of weeds.
Incorporate manure/compost into the soil and after fruit trees have been replanted put down a 3" mulch.
Replant fruit trees to the previous depth. (also scatter a suitable fertilizer and water in plants)
They won't even notice.
No problem can withstand the power of continuous thought.
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p.penn
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Re: Weeding in my Fruit Bed

Post by p.penn »

My veg patch sounds like your fruit bed }hairout{

This year seems worse than ever - I weed, then blink, and the whole of my tiny garden is inundated with weeds again! Honestly, I just cant keep on top of them {mr.angry}
Helen xx

3 children, 3 grandchildren, 3 chooks, 3 fish, a shrimp that thinks its a prawn and a dappy dog.
http://www.acountrygrandma.blogspot.com
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