WEEDING can be a lengthy, boring and sometimes painful job – with the constant bending over often leading to backache.
However, there’s a new tool on the market that green-fingered shoppers are racing to buy, as it makes weeding a whole lot easier and will do your back a world of good too.
One person took to the Gardening UK thread on Reddit to ask for advice in dealing with their weed-strewn lawn, writing: “We moved into a home where the landlord hasn’t made any effort to clear the garden of weeds and there are so many of them.
“Please can you give advice on the best way to get rid of them? Thank you!”
“You can get these weeders on a stick (like those litter pickers),” one person replied, sharing a link to a £15 Amazon one they’d bought.
“There’s a bit of a knack to it but they are pretty good especially if you have a bad back.
“The big boys still need troweling out.”
“This is an immensely satisfying job,” another added.
“I did mine with a long screwdriver, then shoved a bit of sand and topsoil in each hole to help drainage.”
“You could always try a weed puller to save you using a trowel,” another added.
“I’m not sure how effective they are long-term, but in the short term, they remove the weed quickly and easily without having to kneel down.”
“I have a weed puller as my garden had a similar number of dandelions,” a third commented.
“It looked like a battlefield with all the holes it left but it was so quick and it seems to have stopped them coming back so far!”
“I did the same and completely agree,” someone else wrote
“My garden definitely looked rough right after using a handheld weed puller but I agree that this didn’t last long.
The Sun's Gardening Editor, Veronica Lorraine, has shared the tasks you need to crack on with in May.
GARDEN growth can go from nought to ninety in May, depending on the weather. The last UK frosts are generally seen at the beginning of the month, so all of a sudden there’s so much more to do and grow.
Plant out dahlia tubers
It’s a joy to finally plant out your dahlia tubers. Remember how big they can get – and space accordingly – anything up to half a metre apart.
It’s a good idea to put your support stakes in now instead of trying to work around them.
And make sure you include lots of well rotted manure or decent compost to feed it and then mulch to keep it moist and suppress weeds. They generally start blooming in July.
Final feed to Spring flowers
You can give a cheeky feed to all your remaining tulips and daffodils.
Although the majority of bulbs aren’t guaranteed to come back year after year any more, as long as you’ve left them to die back naturally there’s a good chance they’ll have stored enough energy to come back again. Tomato feed is fine.
Tie up climbers
Your clematis, honeysuckle and rambling roses should be well on their way by now – try to use plastic free string to tie them back into their support, or tuck them round each other to make sure they don’t sprout off in crazy directions.
Feed the lawn
It’s not too late to give your lawn a good feed.
Whether you use granular or liquid, it can give it a good boost to see it through the harsher summer months.
While mowing, don’t go too low with your cut length yet and never take more than a third off the grass height.
Get creative
It’s also time to get creative with hanging baskets and pots.
Trailing pelargoniums, which a lot of people call geraniums, and Begonias are a good, low cost way of getting lovely returning blooms throughout the summer in your baskets.
And pots can be planted with spring bulbs.
Don’t forget the greenhouse!
Give your greenhouse a good tidy and clean the glass inside and out.
The improved light will help plants grow quicker inside and tidying is good for the soul.
You can just use a household white wine vinegar and water solution – or even neat if you’re feeling spendy – which gives a really good shine.
“I did sprinkle the tiniest bit of topsoil in each hole as I was initially worried that the ground wouldn’t be level after the grass grew over but I don’t think I even needed to do that to be honest.
“I have only pulled out a handful since using it a couple years ago and those have been along the fence line so it definitely was an efficient solution to getting rid of weeds and my garden looks so lovely now!”
