Weed killer

Maizie you do not have to. I only use the weed wand on hard surfaces, where insects are visible.If I see an insect near a weed, I either go round it and come back to that weed when it has moved away, or I approach it slowly and it scuttles away when it feels warmth and I can then burn the weed.

I do not use the weed wand for weeding the vegetable patch, flower beds or shrubbery. The good traditional hoe does for that.

Using a weed killer is not incompatible with a rich wildlife. When the weeds are killed, whether by weed wand or hoe, in their place grow a whole host of other chosen plants, many of which attract insects of all kinds and are planted for that reason. A well maintained garden, planted with insects, birds and other wildlife in mind can provide a richer habitat than an unmaintained weed grown one.

This is an interesting subject. The farmer next to us went 'bio' - I think they get grants. The first few years he planted various crops, and they fought with the weeds for survival.
The value of the produce in that field must have been greatly reduced. So that's why organic produce is more expensive.
Gramaretto - the attack on the cabbages - fighting that would involve pesticides, which seem to be even more harmful than herbicides. Longterm use linked to cancers in humans.

Years ago, farmers (who were not then organic by choice) would have employed an army of local women and children, paid at subsistence rates, to hoe the crops to keep the weeds at bay. Weedkiller (and greater exposure to carcinogens) is the price we pay for cheap and plentiful food.

But, of course, we don't need it so intensively in our own gardens.

One of ourie community volunteer organic gardeners works mainly in private gardens where mowing and pruning are his usual jobs. I asked how to deal with a tree root too difficult to dig out. He suggested piling manure onto it to speed the rotting process before enclosing it in a cover to keep out light and air. He said it could take a few years but it will work.
Its true it's harder work, well more labour intensive. Last year we hand picked thousands of sawfly caterpillars off the gooseberry bushes.

Fennel Organic transition is often a dificult time and the crop may be very weedy, but on a well run organic farm, weeds are not such a problem. Yes, crops can be lower than commercial crops, especially the large field pesticide and herbicide using systems but organic systems nurture the soil so that the soil quality is far better, but the nutritional value of the food is often higher and the soil improves with cultivation, unlike agro industry where crops are grown cheaply but at the cost of soil compaction and soil exhaustion leading to food that is cheap but not nutricious and invariably of a poorer quality.

Have found a gardener, am buying a flame thrower which my new best friend the gardener will use on the many weeds . Thank you x

As a ps to this subject, if I was 20 years younger I would say, dig up the weeds manually. I don't like any of the short cuts.
Except there's one that hasn't been mentioned - if it's a patch of weeds, cover it in early spring, before the seeds develop, with old carpeting, or cardboard sheets or thick black plastic.
Deprivation of water and light will kill them.

Monica
Sorry, but there has been plenty of research that compares nutrition of Organic food compared with Conventional food and there is no difference. Scientifically the fact is that all plants absorb nutrients in the same way and organic fertlity is converted by soil bacteria in the same way as chemical fertilizer and it is easy to use too much organic fertilizer.
Nevertheless if you feel better buying organic that’s OK but please don’t demonize 90% plus of conventional food.

When I was ten years younger I did dig up weeds and I would need a stair carpet to stretch down the centre path to cover weeds there ?

David - I took M0nica's main point to be that overuse of herb/pesticides destroys the quality of the soil over time.
It's the soil which provides the main plant nutrients, and once destroyed, it's very slow/difficult to restore.
As I mentioned in the use of salt.
But this relates more to agriculture than small gardens.

Yes, the overuse of anything is bad and wasteful, but compaction causing poor soil structure is more important. Soil only carries fertility, it can be exhausted easily, virgin soil might sustain cropping for 3 years only. Crop nutrients wether organic or chemical need to be added for each crop, a lot for a crop like potatoes much less for wheat or other cereals.
Many crops are grown hydroponically without soil, Tomatoes and Strawberries notably, also others, the plants don’t care which as long as it is all balanced.
Salt, there are a few crops that might benefit on soils that are deficient but it’s not often used.

Annie - good luck!
Glad to see that you're interested in your garden again.
We've been away the last 2 weeks and our tiny back garden is now beyond recognition. I can hardly believe how good the soil is in our little corner of the industrial NE.
This is our first spring here since we moved last year.

David The discussion on this thread is the contribution organic methods make to protecting the quality of the soil and the wider eco environronment, not the nutritional value of the food grown

On a day when the importance of soils and their contribution to carbon capture and storage is making headlines, organic farming methods are without a doubt much more compatible with concerns about the loss of biodiversity and global warming than industrial methods.

Fennel, I must be close to you (Stockton in Tees) but am battling heavy clay! I'm just starting to get into my gardening again (a novice) after illness so might have some questions for you all as I take my baby steps!

Monica.
The nutritional value of food was brought into the thread by Fennel not myself.
It is obvious that organic crops have more ecological diversity, they are less intensive and produce lower yields of poorer quality crops that need to be sold at a higher price to be economic.
Industrial production of fertilizers and other chemicals do indeed contribute to global emissions but without them food production will fall by 2/3 at least.

David This discussion will go nowhere we are coming from such extreme differences. Also I am off on holiday at 5.00pm tomorrow morning and just do not have the time to do the proper research to refute your statements, for which I have seen more than enough evidence to be confident they are inaccurate.

David - I didn't mean the nutritional value of crops in bio fields. It was more the reduced quantity.
Could be both though.

“I’m” not extreme, the quality of conventional food is excellent and regulated very closely buy the governments and retailers. As long as the consumer eats a moderate quantity of a varied diet the will live a long and healthy life.

The average lifespan of the population is increasing, we are not dying because our food kills us.