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Does anyone know what this weed is, please?

Busy-LizzieBusy-Lizzie Posts: 24,043
in Plants
Does anyone know what this weed is? There is a lot in the vegetable garden. I've been digging it up.




Dordogne and Norfolk. Clay in Dordogne, sandy in Norfolk.
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  • robairdmacraignilrobairdmacraignil Posts: 782
    Is it creeping thistle?
    https://www.youtube.com/user/sustainableveg/videos
  • BobTheGardenerBobTheGardener Posts: 11,385
    Have a look at perennial sow thistle, Sonchus arvensis:


    A trowel in the hand is worth a thousand lost under a bush.
  • Busy-LizzieBusy-Lizzie Posts: 24,043
    Thank you @BobTheGardener, I've looked it up and that's what it is. I moved house recently and have a new vegetable garden full of weeds, huge dandelions, bindweed, couch grass, goose grass, cinquefoil, hairy bitter cress, groundsel etc. I've done a lot of digging the last few days.
    Dordogne and Norfolk. Clay in Dordogne, sandy in Norfolk.
  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
    Oh dear @Busy-Lizzie  😟Maybe grow lot of potatoes this year? ... itz a chance to keep the soil tilled and weeded. 

    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • Busy-LizzieBusy-Lizzie Posts: 24,043
    I will be growing some @Dovefromabove, Charlotte. So far I've planted raspberries, red onion sets, lettuces, cabbages and I'll sow some broad beans tomorrow. There are rows of strawberries under the weeds growing out of the weed suppressant fabric.
    Dordogne and Norfolk. Clay in Dordogne, sandy in Norfolk.
  • BobTheGardenerBobTheGardener Posts: 11,385
    edited March 2021
    Only the best weeds then @Busy-Lizzie :D
    Those are amongst the usual invaders when a veg plot gets left uncultivated for a while, so I'd guess the previous owners stopped using it for some time.
    Now you're growing veg again, the normal weeding needed will help reduce numbers over time, but as you know some weed seeds are very long lived and bringing them to the surface during normal cultivation means it takes many years.  For that reason, putting down a thick mulch once you have the perennial roots out and planting through it will help reduce weed seedling numbers drastically. 
    A trowel in the hand is worth a thousand lost under a bush.
  • Busy-LizzieBusy-Lizzie Posts: 24,043
    Oh dear, @BobTheGardener, the compost heap has hardly started so I've been buying loads of sacks of compost to make flowerbeds in the clay soil. There was a big lawn but no flowers. The vegetable garden is 6m x 11m so that is a lot to cover, except that quite a bit is covered with fabric for the existing strawberry beds.

    The previous owner had a shoulder injury followed by an operation.
    Dordogne and Norfolk. Clay in Dordogne, sandy in Norfolk.
  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
    Surely the donkey has left contributions behind him which will be useful for soil improvement 😉 

    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • Busy-LizzieBusy-Lizzie Posts: 24,043
    Yes, @Dovefromabove, but I will have to wait until his owner has re-homed him. I have never met such a bad tempered donkey, not risking getting bitten by going into his paddock.
    Dordogne and Norfolk. Clay in Dordogne, sandy in Norfolk.
  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
    Oh dear @Busy-Lizzie what a shame ... makes you wonder what sort of experienced he’s had in the past to make him so bad tempered 😞 

    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





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