Since the start of spring, a particular weed has sprung up more than any other on my plot, so I decided to look up what it was. I think I have found the culprit, and it is oilseed rape.
I found it on this useful weed identification site, which I think is primarily intended for farmers, but there are pictures of the seedlings and the fully grown plants.
I also found some interesting stuff about rapeseed/oilseed rape on Wikipedia. First, that it might have come from seed being blown in (there are numerous fields of this stuff on commercial land nearby). Second, there is a genetically modified, "Roundup Ready" (weedkiller resistant) version commercially available. I don't know if British farmers are using it, but that might explain why I've got so much of the damn stuff, and not much else - my application of weedkiller last season was Roundup (Glyphosate). Purely speculation, but interesting, Moog thinks.
Moog thinks this might be the first GM crop on my allotment!
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Dear Moog, if your allotment was previously farmland the rapeseeds may not have blown in, they may be burried in the soil. My back garden used to be a farmer's field. It took about six years before rapeseed plants stopped popping up in the flower beds.
ReplyDeleteAunty N.