Hi everyone,
I’ve started a veg patch this spring and I’m pretty new to it all.
It was going well until I went away for 10 days and came back to see loads of grass coming up in all over the patch. I mean a lot of grass! Plus a few other weeds.
I tried pulling the grass out this morning but it took about an hour to finish a tiny patch!!
Is there anything I can use to kill grass but nothing else?
You can put cardboard down, overlap by at least 10cm, obviously going around your plants.
Yes I agree Tory - this is what we do as we’re organic. We do it before planting out - then cut holes and plant through the cardboard. By the time the cardboard has degraded the grass and weeds have died.
Whatever you do, don’t try any chemicals. You are going to eat that veg.
The only way to do it without involving any chemicals on the soil is lots of pulling, hoeing and digging 
Whilst it might sound daft… I find it easier to weed when the soil is wet… so try watering a patch at a time, let it soak and then see if it is any easier to pull the stuff out.
Hoe, Hoe, Hoe…
I love hoeing… but grass is not quite so easy…
Not if you go the permaculture route it’s not. As little digging as possible. Hoeing and pulling yes, but especially mulching and keeping off the patch as much as possible.
When I had a large veg patch I used to let the weeds do their own thing. I worked fulltime and weeding just was not a priority. Occasional strim round the edges and I just let the veg and the weeds fight it out. Look at any patch of uncultivated ground and there is always a mass of different plants intermingling.
This what we do to especially around the boarders, then lift cardboard every now and again to collect the slugs & snails which like to hide under the cardboard. Hardly ever have a weed problem with no dig.
That leek is that big you should call an emergency plumber!
We had leeks still from last hear, but the centre of all of them was wood! Only fit for the stock pot. Yours look better!
Depends on the grass. Couch grass can live under cover almost indefinitely. It’s the cockroach of grasses and grows profusely. Fortunately, you can dig it out as it only roots to a depth of about 10-15cm. Ive just dug out about 100m2 of couch grass in my garden. It’s a very time consuming job but the only true solution.
Not daft at all @Stella . I’m with you on that. Although the ground is heavier, it’s easier to separate and easier to pull weeds out of.
Thanks for the advice everyone! I’ve spent some time digging up over the past couple of days and almost have it all out. I’ve got things planted all over the place at the moment so will go for the cardboard solution next year when I should be a bit more organized 
The early years are the worst endemic perennial roots and a seed bank thriving on bare earth means a fight and endless weeding
Time and effort and each year it gets better.
And remember those perfect potagers are the result of a lot of years and weeding.
