 Growing Gardens
with Anita Morton
Weed wars
 Asphodelus
fistulosus - 'Onion weed'
For the last few weeks I've been waging a battle against a terrible foe - onion
weed! This bulbous plant spreads by means of tiny bulblets and by seed. It pops
up in autumn and grows through the winter, flowering in spring. It is absolutely
essential to exterminate this plant in the early stages of growth, before it has
a chance to produce bulblets. Once those are present in your soil you will be
digging them out forever, and the same if you let the plant go to seed.
Now is the time to get stuck into it. If you have a widespread infestation,
you might get reasonable control by spraying with glyphosate. Be sure to add a
squirt of dishwashing detergent to the mixture to help it stick, and to follow
up with another spray whenever you see re-growth. Or try the oil trick - dribble
a spoonful of light machine oil into the crown of the plant; it's supposed to
smother the bulb. However, I'm afraid that there's nothing better than hand weeding
for getting rid of onion weed growing among wanted plants.
With small plants, use an old table knife to get down to the bulb and lift
it out. Larger weeds are more difficult, but I have found a bulb planter to be
useful. Push it down as deep as you can and lift out the whole plug of soil. A
large onion weed will have a cluster of bulblets around the base, so be sure to
get the lot. Empty the soil into a plastic bag, and do the same with all the plants
you get out. Tie them up in a plastic bag and put it in the rubbish. Do not, under
any circumstances, put onion weed into your compost heap, worm farm or green waste
bin. Good luck!
Lismore Garden Club News
The next meeting of the Lismore Garden Club will be held next Thursday, June
2, at the home of Ron and Nita Burns, 53 Kruseana Ave, Goonellabah, from 1.30pm.
Guest speaker will be Mary Harris, chairperson of the Lismore Botanic Gardens
management committee. There will be a lovely afternoon tea and garden walk after
the meeting. Please bring a plate. Visitors are most welcome. For more information
phone 6624 7422.
Instead of growing just lettuce alone, why not try mixed salad greens? You
have seen and may even have purchased them in clear plastic bags from the fresh
vegie aisle in your supermarket. They are very easy to grow. They are always fresh
and ready to use in salads. Grow them in winter, spring and autumn in a sunny
garden bed or styrofoam box. When growing them in summer, they will need to be
watered daily and protected with a simple shade cloth cover. With cultivation
in the garden, dig in compost or animal manure two weeks before planting. With
a styrofoam box, use premium potting. Take a packet of oak leaf lettuce seed,
a packet of beetroot seed and a packet of silverbeet seed, mix equal numbers of
each together and sow very thickly. Water with Seasol and upon germination water
with half strength liquid fertiliser. Start to harvest when 10cm high by cutting
them off just above ground level. Apply liquid fertiliser and they will regrow
each time they are cut.
Happy gardening
Ron Burns
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