Something I've found to be so inherently SE Queensland (or subtropical) is that we don't just get 'The Day of the Triffids' here but the 3 months of the triffids, where everything in the summer grows at such a rate of knots it's almost impossible to keep up with. Not only do your food plants grow like the clappers, but so do the weeds, the insect populations and the bacterial and fungal problems associated with the humid weather.
AFFECTINATELY CALLED 'PUMPKINVILLE'
This sort of rampant growth ensures abundance if you choose the right plants (like pumpkins, cucumbers, climbing spinach, snake beans, rosellas and most herbs) and a weed infested mess if you don't keep up with your weeding and mulching!
If a bed gets out of hand with weeds, never mind, as the weeds protect the soil underneath from erosion during the time when you are not using the bed. Just don't let the weeds go to seed and draw the line at keeping couch, oxalis and wandering dew just to name a few painful ones. Get rid of them straight away!
After I pulled a heap of weeds out of a bed the soil underneath was left soft, crumbly and full of worms. (See below) A good feed, lick of lime and a mulch and the bed was ready to go again for Autumn
Moral of the story though, always cover the soil with something (crops, green manures or mulch) or mother nature will do it for you!
