War on fleablane

IMG_1691After our post about the peril of Canadian Fleabane, gardening heroine Marian Temple answers the query about what to do after you’ve pulled the weed out of the ground.

For goodness sake, don’t just leave it there. If it’s in flower (they just look like little buds – very inconspicuous) or it’s already making seeds (fluffy seed heads) and it’s left to dry, it will be in seventh Heaven. Seeds will develop and float off. Yippee for it, but not for us. Put it in a plastic bag and get rid of it. If it already has seed heads, cut it from the base and handle it gently so that the seeds don’t fly all over the place.

And to show she means business, she’s arranging a Wanstead Community Gardeners’ Fleabane Bash.

0.Marian Temple- Gardener

Next Week on Tuesday 26th and Thursday 28th July, meet outside the public toilets on Woodbine Place at 6.30pm for a trundle around the outskirts of Christ Church Green to hoik out unsuspecting Fleabane. It’s beginning to flower so needs dealing with asap. Good opportunity for identifying this weed. Once you’ve taken part in a Fleabane Bash, you will always know it. Meet me, Marian Temple, there… and what do I look like???? Simple. I’m part of a clone, the 60-somethingish, short grey hair and glasses clone. There are about 30.000 of us in Wanstead alone but this particular one will be lurking by the public toilets next week, Tues and Thurs 6.30. BRING YOUR KILLER INSTINCT!