Weed out some nasty intruders

Weeds can play havoc with vegetables, Kitty Scully reports

IF you ignore your vegetable plot for a week or two in June you may return to a multitude of minute critters ravishing your crops and chances are you will be facing an uphill struggle with weeds for the rest of the season. I appreciate that insects, big and small, are all god’s creatures and that some weeds are tasty, but I do actually enjoy bountiful vegetable harvests and prefer crunching homegrown carrots to chewing on chickweed salad.

What is a weed? A weed is simply a plant growing in the wrong place. Weeds or wild plants growing in a field, hedgerow or forest are all part of the natural vegetation, but if they grow too close to your vegetables they will compete for those essentials to good growth and bountiful yields: water, nutrients and light. Any cultivated plant can become a weed if it grows in the wrong place, like rogue potatoes popping up in your onion bed. Competition leads to lower yields and if left unattended, weeds can take hold and strangle your crop completely.