SUMMER showers perk up plants, but rainfall is a double-edged sword.
Yes, showers are good for the garden, plants look refreshed, but they bring out slugs, snails and weeds.
No sooner have you weeded the beds and borders during a fine spell, than you’ll have to do it again after a downpour, as seedlings emerge and difficult perennial weeds such as ground elder, couch grass and bindweed do their worst, climbing or spreading their underground roots so they are virtually impossible to eradicate. Of course, the answer with annual weeds is to hoe between your shrubs and edibles, cutting the weed seedlings off before they take hold.
If you let them flower you’ll regret it as they’ll shed seed everywhere and reappear later, giving you more work.
With many perennial weeds, you’ll either need to cover them with a weed- suppressing membrane or treat them on a dry, still day with systemic weedkiller, which will be ingested by the plant and so kill its roots. After a few weeks you should be able to dig up and dispose of the dead roots, although you must remain vigilant and deal with any weeds which may return if you missed a bit.
Of course, there are measures which will deter weeds. A thick mulch between plants in borders, and good ground cover plants such as hardy geraniums will all help. Alternatively you could cover bare, moist soil with clear plastic in summer so the surface soil gets hot – scorching and killing weed seeds.
If your borders are awash with weeds, dig up plants you want to keep and plant them in a temporary spot, cover the soil in the border with carpet and wait for the weeds to die. It will take patience, but it’ll be worth it.
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