Weeds are with us
all year round
Organic weed control
Weeds are with us all year round. This page has information on how to recognise and deal with many common weeds all year round.
Annual weeds
Remove annual weed seedlings by hoeing or hand weeding.
Take a look at a weed identification Website : www.theseedsite.co.uk
Another great resource for information about weeds is our own Organic Weed Management website. The links in the list of top ten weeds below will take you to the relevant pages in the Organic Weed Management website.
Top ten most common annual weeds:
- Chickweed Stellaria media
- Groundsel Senecio vulgaris
- Wavy and hairy bittercress Cardamine flexuosa and C. hirsuta
- Annual nettle Urtica urens
- Shepherd's purse Capsella bursa-pastoris
- Goosegrass (cleavers) Galium aparine
- Fat hen Chenopodium album
- Sun spurge Euphorbia helioscopia
- Annual meadow-grass Poa annua
- Herb Robert Geranium robertianum
Keep off wet grass
Lawn weeds
Use an old kitchen knife to cut out dandelions, docks, thistles, daisies, plantains and buttercups. Excavate as much of the roots as possible to prevent re-growth. Re-seed bare soil with a mixture of compost and new grass seed.
Remember to keep off the grass when it is waterlogged or frozen.
Composting weeds
- Annual weeds are safe to compost along with other garden and kitchen waste.
- Perennial weeds often have parts that can re-generate so are best kept separate.
Perennials can be composted by the following methods:
- Make a separate weed heap for large quantities of perennial weeds such as the heap of docks pictured here.
Cover the heap with black plastic to exclude light and the weeds will eventually turn into valuable compost.
- For smaller quantities use the black plastic bag method. Simply pile the weeds, roots and all into a black plastic bag, add water if the contents are dry. Tie up the bag loosely and leave for 6-12 months until the contents have rotted down. It is then safe to mix into the rest of your compost heap to return valuable nutrients back to the garden.
Some of the most common perennial weeds that have spreading stems or roots:
Field bindweed in flower
Dandelion flower and
seed head
Broad-leaved dock
Ground elder - Aegopodium podagraria
Hedge bindweed - Calystegia sepium
Field bindweed - Convovulus arvensis
Couch grass - Elymus repens
Horsetail - Equisetum spp.
Nettle - Urtica dioica
Perennial weeds with tap roots:
Broad-leaved dock - Rumex obtusifolius
Dandelion - Taraxacum officinale
See also our Questions and Answers section for:
Chemical-free plot clearing
It’s very tempting to use a herbicide for the initial clearance of a weedy plot, but this is not good practice if you wish to grow food organically. With a realistic assessment of the work involved and a plan of action, you can soon have ground that is clear of weeds and ready for planting. Garden Organic members can see our factsheet on Chemical-free plot clearing.
Back to What to do in your garden now
Top of pageGarden Organic is the working name of the Henry Doubleday Research Association (HDRA).
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