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  • Mouse eared carrots

    The carrots in my raised bed are being swamped with chickweed. I've been patiently pulling it out, but it's getting the better of me and the tiny carrot seedlings. Should I take the top couple of inches of soil off the bed and then re-sow or am I fighting a losing battle?
    Granny on the Game in Sheffield

  • #2
    It is a pain, but keep pulling it. Make sure you get the roots out (it's easier if you let it get big, just as it flowers is the best time for pulling)
    All gardeners know better than other gardeners." -- Chinese Proverb.

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    • #3
      Probably won't help a lot Flo,but when I plant small seeds direct I drag out a V with the corner of a hoe & fill it with sand,set the seeds in that & then sprinkle a covering of sand.The old gardener where I washed pots in school summer holidays showed me this method,he reckoned being fine the sand helped with germination & deffo helped identify where the rows were at weeding times
      He who smiles in the face of adversity,has already decided who to blame

      Artificial intelligence is no match for natural stupidity

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      • #4
        Originally posted by Two_Sheds View Post
        It is a pain, but keep pulling it. Make sure you get the roots out (it's easier if you let it get big, just as it flowers is the best time for pulling)
        That's what I'm doing TS, but when it gets big enough to pull, it's pulling out the carrot seedlings as well

        Originally posted by bearded bloke View Post
        identify where the rows were at weeding times
        Oh if that were the problem BB, I can clearly see where the carrots are, I just wish they'd grow faster than the chickweed
        Granny on the Game in Sheffield

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        • #5
          We have a weed that looks like a carrot seedling .........very annoying ....its only as it grows that you can tell the difference ....Last year oh carefully weeded round them thinking they were carrots
          S*d the housework I have a lottie to dig
          a batch of jam is always an act of creation ..Christine Ferber

          You can't beat a bit of garden porn

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          • #6
            Just cut the tops off the weed. Scissors or secs or something. Then they won't seed, or disturb the carrot?

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            • #7
              Originally posted by binley100 View Post
              We have a weed that looks like a carrot seedling .........very annoying ....its only as it grows that you can tell the difference ....Last year oh carefully weeded round them thinking they were carrots
              Think I know what you mean, it produces pink/purple flowers. You can tell the difference by the colour, it's a slightly paler, almost bluey green compared to the vibrant green of a carrot seedling. This reminds me, I need to carrot my weed bed.
              Last edited by Shadylane; 21-05-2012, 10:52 PM.

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              • #8
                You could always eat it Flo:

                Stellaria media is delicious, edible and nutritious, and has medicinal purposes and is used as a leaf vegetable, often raw in salads. It is one of the ingredients of the symbolic dish consumed in the Japanese spring-time festival, Nanakusa-no-sekku.
                Stellaria media - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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                • #9
                  Originally posted by Florence Fennel View Post
                  when it gets big enough to pull, it's pulling out the carrot seedlings as well
                  So ... pull it up, then leave it in situ for a day or two. Or forever: it can be a mulch, so long as it's not seeding

                  Originally posted by SarzWix View Post
                  Just cut the tops off the weed.
                  But then it just regrows: you need to uproot chickweed
                  All gardeners know better than other gardeners." -- Chinese Proverb.

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                  • #10
                    It's a bl@@dy nightmare. I only did it on Sunday and when I looked last night thousands more have popped up. I might have to sow some carrots somewhere else - the weed would be easier to manage if I could pull it and leave it on the soil as you say TS.
                    Granny on the Game in Sheffield

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                    • #11
                      Now we'll see. I took the enviromesh off the bed, got out all (I hope) the chickweed by the root and sowed some more carrot seed in the gaps. Re-meshed the bed fingers firmly crossed.
                      Granny on the Game in Sheffield

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                      • #12
                        I would mulch the bed with grass clippings once the carrots start showing
                        All gardeners know better than other gardeners." -- Chinese Proverb.

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