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Weeds from surrounding field ruining garden
greenburntfingers
Posts: 3
Simply put, the field that surrounds our house is used for crop growing. The problem is that the farmer doesn't touch the edges of the field and some of the weeds are about 7-8ft tall and keep coming into our garden and killing our yew trees and just spreading all over our lawn..not sure what to do! Please advise
If pictures would help I can take some
0
Posts
I think gardening in countryside is harder than gardening in town exactly for this reason (I tried both. Still I prefer the contryside)
You can't change this really. Comes with the package.
Even if you build a barrier seeds will probably come in with the wind, bird poop, the sole of your boots... and the ground you garden in is probably saturated with them anyway.
Think of this: Those untouched edges are a haven for many forms of wildlife that have been almost squeezed out of existence from "civilized" contryside.
And also, Farmers are touchy. When somebody (not me) complained about the same issue with a farmer who had the neighbouring field in an old home of mine in Italy, he solved the problem by spraying round-up on the verge of the field. And our gardens as well.
Weed regularly, in a few years you plants will be tall enough to be more independent. But in the countryside you'll be always weeding. It is party of being part of a combative ecosystem.
I have to agree. My garden has arable fields behind and to one side and pastures on the 3rd side and across the road. If you had suburban neighbours you'd get just as many but maybe different weed seeds coming in from their gardens so the answer is to hoe regularly between your treasures and make sure you fork out persistent roots such as couch grass, nettles, creeping buttercup and thistles.
It's a bit like having to dust and vac your house every week except that the more you deal with the perennial weeds the weaker they will become so the quicker they can be dealt with each year and then you'll just need regular hoeing for annual weeds.
The only answer is to keep on top of them. Yew trees are pretty sturdy 0 they will survive just about anything. Any weeds in the lawn can be kept in check by annual weedkiller, spot weedkiller or just by regular mowing. All part and parcel of living alongside nature.
All of the houses on my side of our road back on to an arable field and the farmer doesn't mind at all if we keep the bit between his field and our gardens chopped down. After all, when the wind is blowing the other way his field doesn't get weed seeds scattered all over it. Not everyone bothers of course and we still get weeds - who doesn't - but it certainly helps a bit. We have a deep ditch in between too and he's been quite happy for those of us who can be bothered to build a bridge across this to make doing the chopping down easier. I'll upload a picture in a minute to show you what I mean.
You could try asking your farmer if he'd mind if you did the same.
You won't need the bridge but this is how mine looks. I just strim it every month or so with a cheapish bosch cordless strimmer but my next door neighbour actually mows their bit with a hover mower!.
Pictures would help.
Not all farmers are ogres - many follow good farming practice and leave their field margins for wildlife
http://adlib.everysite.co.uk/adlib/defra/content.aspx?doc=90683&id=90910
http://bumblebeeconservation.org/get-involved/managing-your-land/field-margins/
It seems they're damned whatever they do
I really can't imagine what sort of weeds are killing yew trees
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
I am in the same situation. My garden is surrounded by uncultivated fields so my garden is constantly thick with weeds. It is impossible to keep it completlely weed free. I spray the banks on my side to keep the bramble under some sort of control and it is just weeding the rest of the time. I try to cover the veg. area with weed matting each autumn which really helps. Mulching with bark also helps, it is much easier to remove weeds from bark than soil but I have decided I am on hiding to nothing.
As above, the plus side is the wild life brought in and the happy hours my cat spends hunting small brown furries, rarely birds thank goodness.To date I have had a mole, rabbits, voles, mice and shrews presented to me, as many as 3 in one evening.
Jo - I agree so much
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.