Grow & Learn – Coastal Community Garden

Here we would like to bring you topics that will give you some ideas and information to help you with your garden.

Our first topic, below, is on WEEDS. I hope to add to our collection of common weeds as well as invasive weeds in our bushlands and how we can work to reduce and hopefully eventually eliminate them.

Read all about Composting on this link.
Here is some information on how to make your own Liquid Fertiliser and weed tea.

Common Weeds

Have you heard that a weed is a plant that has grown in the wrong place? This may be true for many plants but the common weed is something not only in the wrong place but often takes over, smothers or robs other plants of essential nutrients. They are also often difficult to control due to several factors.

How weeds spread

Seeds are spread by wind, water, animals or on our clothing or through transferring soil from one area to another.
Seeds can remain in the soil for many years before germinating.
Some plants spread by runners or have underground tubers or bulbs which are hard to remove.

Controlling weeds

This can be done by various methods:

Sprays – organic sprays are preferred which do less harm to the environment, birds, reptiles and animals.
Hand removal – digging up the roots, bulbs and removing all flowers before they go to seed.
Checking pots, soil and other organic matter that may be brought into your garden with unwanted seeds or weeds.
Disposing of weeds with runners, bulbs or seed into garbage bins, hot compost, plant tea (see below for information on how to make) or worm farms where they will decompose.

During winter rains, seeds break their dormancy and begin to grow. Then during the warmer, sunnier days of spring they start to flower and produce seed. The best time to address your weed problem is before the seeds are produced. You don’t want new season’s seeds spreading further throughout your garden. Here are some weeds you may recognise which need removing.

Many of the weeds mentioned below are from introduced species mostly from Europe, Asia and Africa, having been brought over intentionally or unintentionally. Many are not identified as invasive species, out-competing native flora, sometime forming dense monocultures that reduce biodiversity, causing a negative impact on ecosystems where they have been introduced.

Never take plants to the local bushlands and replant them as this will compromise the environment. Native bushland has many invasive species which have taken root due to foreign species being brought not only into Australia but also from interstate.

Some typical garden and bushland weeds

Sisymbrium orientale – Oriental Mustard, Indian hedge mustard

Native to North Africa, Asia and Europe, introduced species and a common weed.

Geranium molle – Dove’s foot, wild geranium

Native to Asia and Europe

Fumaria muralis – scrambling fumitory

Native to Northwestern Africa, Western Asia and Europe.

Melilotus indicus – small melilot – clover

Native to Asia, North Africa and Europe – invasive species because of its ability to grow rapidly in disturbed areas such as roadsides, fields and bushlands. Its capacity to fix nitrogen from the atmosphere allows it to over compete with native plants.

Ehrharta calycina – perennial veld grass

Native to South Africa and is highly invasive and out competes and smothers native vegetation.

Oxalis pes-caprae – sourgrass

Native to South Africa. Bulbous root system that produces multiple. Late winter early spring.

Invasive due to its rapid spreading through underground bulbs, which crowd out native vegetation. Very difficult to control once established and efforts to remove it can harm nearby plants.