I can honestly say that if they gave awards for growing weeds I would be up on the podium as I seem to be quite brilliant at it. If I left my creeping buttercup to flower it would probably make an amazing display and I would happy to see a meadow full of them.

A weed is after all, just a plant in the wrong place, but this is not the display I had in mind for my cottage garden beds. I’m trying not to panic - as it is easy for me to do at this time of year when I'm running around like a headless chicken - but one job that is ongoing in the garden is the war on weeds!

Dig up or eat up?

The suggested organic removal for most weeds is to dig them out with a trowel or spike before they flower and set seed which can be as quickly as three to four weeks for some annuals. A lot of weeds are edible and very tasty. In the list below I have marked an (E) by the ones you can pop in your salad, use sparingly or mix with conventional lettuce leaves as the flavour can be quite strong. Refer to this

Prevention

Of course they love the bare soil so the best way to prevent weeds germinating is to cover the soil with mulch, applying a thick layer of bark chippings, leaf mould or well-rotted manure now, after you have had a good dig over, will prevent weeds from growing and help to keep the moisture in the soil.

Common annual weeds

Hairy bittercress (E); Groundsel; Sun spurge; Chickweed (E); Fat Hen (E)

Common perennial weeds

Dandelion (E); common Daisy (E flowers & leaves); Meadow grass; and of not forgetting my particular favourite… Creeping Buttercup which particularly loves a mild wet winter like we have had, and clay soil so it is in its element in my borders. I have been digging their deep roots out with a trowel but I also need to improve my soil structure which will help the drainage and this will then hopefully help eradicate it for good.

For more info

For identification help, check out www.ediblewildfood.com/edible-weeds.aspx