Author Topic: How do you guys keep the weeds down in your garden? (Read 2123 times)

DalesCarpentry · « **on:** July 24, 2009, 07:13:21 PM »

How do you guys keep the weeds down in your garden? Where I live every year my neighbors and I battle crab grass and creeping Mertile. There is another that I don't know the name of but it might be worse than the other 2!!!!!!!! I have crab grass in my yard. The only place I have the creeping mertile is in my garden. I can't find it anywhere in my yard but you just can't get rid of this stuff in my garden!!!

After I plant my garden I get over run with weeds. It really is to many to pull. So for the last few years I have been very carefull and I attack them with Roundup. You have to do it on a sunny day with no wind. If you get it on your plants they will die. Every year I beat them down pretty good that way. I sometimes need a second dose. After that I can keep them under control by pulling them. I try real hard to get all the roots. I have to say this is a never ending battle. About the time I have them in check it is fall. Then I start all over again the next year. How do you control your weeds? Dale

skarke · « **Reply #1 on:** July 24, 2009, 07:16:11 PM »

I think that it is called Preen. Pre-emergents work great if used regularly, especially before the beginning of spring.

gypsyman · « **Reply #2 on:** July 24, 2009, 07:31:09 PM »

I use a hoe and a troy-built. Not trying to be funny, I would be afraid to try a weed killer. About 10-12 years ago, my old next door neighbor, who use to farm the back 3 acre's of my place, had the spray rig put down Round Up on his soybeans. There was enough over spray and wind, it killed everything in my garden. He gave me a check for $200, which covered the cost of the plants, and then some. But it didn't cover all the labor I had put into hauling water, hoeing, and what I didn't get to eat and can. So I don't use anything but Seven dust on my cabbage as far as chemicals. gypsyman

DalesCarpentry · « **Reply #3 on:** July 24, 2009, 08:03:28 PM »

Quote from: gypsyman on July 24, 2009, 07:31:09 PM

I use a hoe and a troy-built. Not trying to be funny, I would be afraid to try a weed killer. About 10-12 years ago, my old next door neighbor, who use to farm the back 3 acre's of my place, had the spray rig put down Round Up on his soybeans. There was enough over spray and wind, it killed everything in my garden. He gave me a check for $200, which covered the cost of the plants, and then some. But it didn't cover all the labor I had put into hauling water, hoeing, and what I didn't get to eat and can. So I don't use anything but Seven dust on my cabbage as far as chemicals. gypsyman

LOL. I have a wife. I just can't go there.

I do want one of them little things made by Mantis. I am sure I could go through the rows and keep the weeds down that way. My neighbor has a Troy built rear tine tiller that is a walk behind. That is what I use every year to till my garden. That thing is great. It tills about a 24" path with every pass. It still is hard work tilling my garden though. That thing seems to kick my ass every year.

Dale

Elijah Gunn · « **Reply #4 on:** July 25, 2009, 12:20:44 AM »

I'm trying to mulch using straw. You have to put it down thick or the weeds and grass grow up through it. I weed up close to my plants by hand. I also use an action hoe. It kind of slices through the ground underneath the weed uprooting it. Once you get the weeds under control it works well to keep it that way. I'd like one of those mantis machines too for when the weeds get too thick. A guy I used to work with described weeding as "good therapy" I agree, the problems in the world seem to fade away some when I'm pulling weeds.

DalesCarpentry · « **Reply #5 on:** July 25, 2009, 03:40:12 AM »

Yea I have to say when you are pulling weeds your mind just wonders. It is really about the only time I am just left to my thoughts. Dale

dukkillr · « **Reply #6 on:** July 25, 2009, 06:59:14 AM »

Newspaper and straw around the tomatoes, cucumbers, strawberries. Hoe and tiller around the rest.

DalesCarpentry · « **Reply #7 on:** July 25, 2009, 07:03:18 AM »

Do you just tear the news paper up onto little pieces? Thanks Dale

dukkillr · « **Reply #8 on:** July 25, 2009, 07:06:25 AM »

big strips for the tomatoes, smaller strips for the strawberries because they have to fit between the plants... then cover the paper with straw.

Siskiyou · « **Reply #9 on:** July 25, 2009, 07:56:01 AM »

My folks had an easy way to take care of weeds. The garden was a little over 200 feet long by about 75-feet wide. Weeding it was one of my chores while I was in elementary school. Got a kid, put them to work. It is a job that can be done by either gender. It shore gave me a nice sun tan.

Bigeasy · « **Reply #10 on:** July 25, 2009, 08:06:06 AM »

The ol' lady......lol

DalesCarpentry · « **Reply #11 on:** July 25, 2009, 09:19:14 AM »

I have not managed to get my wife or daughter to pull one weed this year.

Both of them complain so much I would rather do it myself than to listen to all the complaining. I said to my wife just yesterday. I said how many weeds have you pulled this year and she asked me how many times have I cleaned the house or did the dishes this year. That kind of shut me up. Dale

Arier Blut · « **Reply #12 on:** July 25, 2009, 09:59:25 AM »

Anything that will rot over winter when tilled under without messing up the ph is what I use. I like 4" of shredded paper. I have used chicken feathers, straw, water weeds, newspaper, leaves and also just mowed all the grass in the yard to the garden and raked it even on top. None worked better than any other for me. The paper is just the easiest since it is free and already bagged up. I can't do the mower anymore because the new one mulches. Same for the leaves I don't rake, just mulch them with mower now. I'm just lazy I guess.

Bigeasy · « **Reply #13 on:** July 25, 2009, 10:42:20 AM »

Yea, you have a point there Dale. All that sweet corn and tomatos don't do you much good if you are living in the garage......

Larry

skarke · « **Reply #14 on:** July 26, 2009, 06:20:40 AM »

Guys,

I live in an area (Houston) where the weed was invented. No amount of digging, tilling, pulling, of cussing will keep you ahead. Go to the garden store and see what they have in affordable pre-emergents, and you'll impress yourself......, next season.

The problem with mulch, wood chips, etc is that they are often part of the problem by being the source of weed seed. I always demand certified weed free mulch, etc. This too has helped.

I'm dealing with nut grass now. What a pain in the backside.

Barriers are available cheap, and work pretty well in my experience, in that it is much easier to pull the little menaces up. But nothing in my experience has worked anywhere as well as good old chemistry.

skarke · « **Reply #15 on:** July 26, 2009, 06:23:19 AM »

PS, Roundup doesn't kill seeds.

billy_56081 · « **Reply #16 on:** July 26, 2009, 06:29:57 AM »

Preen.

Empty Quiver · « **Reply #17 on:** July 26, 2009, 07:12:59 AM »

My best luck comes from a modified "no till". What you are trying to do is get all the weed seeds within an inch or so of the surface to germinate before you plant. This fall get that garden out and tilled as early as you can, water it nicely, and let the weeds come.A few days before the first frost you can spray with RoundUp to kill any perenial weeds that may be in the garden, and if you have had a flush of weeds it will take them down before they can seed out. They WILL try to go to seed if they have germinated it's mother natures way.

Come spring do not till at all no way no how. Let the weeds come, encourage them for that matter. Now that you can see grasses about an inch and weeds that have roughly two or three leaves, get the Round Up back out and spray the whole thing again. Give it a few hrs to dry on at least and a day or so won't hurt, now spray any part of your garden that you will be setting out starts or planting green beans or planting anything with a fairly large seed with Preen. Put the sprinkler out there and water in with at least a half inch of water or if rain is coming in a few days that is fine as well.

Plant your garden. Make an effort to disturb as little soil as possible. The Preen will stop about all the grass and most weeds with small seeds ( think mustard seed and smaller ). Anywhere you dig down or disturb soil deeper than about an inch you will bring up seeds and or break the chemical barrier you have put down. If you have done all this correctly and the gods of chemistry have smiled on you, you can pound your hoes into skinning knives and spend the summer scouting like the pro's tell us.

I spent over ten yrs in a fertilizer plant and chemical application business and this is how no till is done and it works.

Come fall repeat the process and leave out the tiller if you feel brave. Just leave those old seeds buried for ever more .

Dixie Dude · « **Reply #18 on:** July 26, 2009, 07:48:03 AM »

Hardwood leaves are good too. Straw sometimes have the seed in it depending on what kind of straw. Leaves can also be tilled in and helps to build the topsoil. When you plant your seeds, put the mulch, leaves, newspaper, etc. around the plants to keep the weed seeds out of the garden. Good straw, such as wheat straw, can also be tilled in after the end of the season. I have also found that if you weed about 30 minutes every day, you should be able to keep the weeds out if you don't mulch. Depends on how much time you have.

Empty Quiver · « **Reply #19 on:** July 26, 2009, 08:25:41 AM »

If you choose to use an organic mulch keep in mind that when it decomposes it will tie up nitrogen in the process. This is not a bad thing as it will be slowly released back into the soil. The key is to apply enough nitrogen fertilizer in the first couple years to make up for that which is not available yet.

At some point going into the future you would be able to decrease to a lower level than what you currently use and still see increased yields. Tilling that mulch into the soil in the fall along with a dose of fertilizer is your best bet in that vein.

Dixie Dude · « **Reply #20 on:** July 26, 2009, 08:58:37 AM »

Your local county agent or such can usually take a soil sample and tell you want you need. Down south, sometimes you have to add lime because the soil is too acid. I think they have home test kits also. And yes nitrogen is used in the mulch as it degrades, so adding some in the mulch helps.

DalesCarpentry · « **Reply #21 on:** July 26, 2009, 10:10:03 AM »

Wow you guys seem to know what you are talking about. I will be looking into Preen next year for sure. Thanks Dale

Drilling Man · « **Reply #22 on:** July 26, 2009, 11:13:13 AM »

I have more than one garden, and here's one of them,

Even though i do have a mini tiller, a fill size tiller ect., I have very little weeding to do, and i don't use any preen, chemicals, or chem ferts at all!

I HATE weeding, so i mulch everything in heavy!! I just don't have any amount of weeds, and the few i do have, are easily pulled and added to the mulch!

The way my gardens produce, year after year, shows that i'm doing something right!

And my gardens use so much LESS water too! And, all that mulch gets tilled in, in the fall, to feed "next" years plants...

With heavy mulch, my garden work load is so much less, it makes gardening so much more enjoyable.

I'll never go back to tilling and weeding! Anyway, it works for me!

DM

skarke · « **Reply #23 on:** July 27, 2009, 12:29:13 PM »

drilling man, those are freaking bea utiful.

Drilling Man · « **Reply #24 on:** July 29, 2009, 03:35:34 AM »

Thanks skarke,

Gardening is great fun, and best of all, it feeds you...

DM

StrawHat · « **Reply #25 on:** July 30, 2009, 01:52:38 AM »

I have raised bed gardens. Each is 2'x12' and about 6" high. I mulch everything with grass clippings. Got the neighbor to help by having him dump his clippings over the fence so I can use them. It doesn't stop all the weeds but the ones that show up are manageable. I try to mulch about 4-6" deep. In the fall, the plants go to the compost piles, the mulch gets turned under and barley gets planted. Except in the one bed, there I palnt my garlic for next season. When it gets about 4-6" tall I cover it with a bed of straw for the winter. After the garlic is harvested in July, the straw gets turned under.

Blue Duck · « **Reply #26 on:** July 30, 2009, 03:24:16 AM »

I have a drip water system. It really helps keeping the weeds down. The water goes only to the plants and not to the weeds. It makes a big difference most summers. A rainy summer can be a problem.

skarke · « **Reply #27 on:** July 30, 2009, 06:32:11 PM »

great idea Blue Duck. Why'd you kill all those people on Lonesome Dove

guzzijohn · « **Reply #28 on:** September 04, 2009, 03:40:13 AM »

Four years ago we moved out to the country. We bought a Wardcraft home which is a stick built house but factory built and moved in one piece. When moving the top third of the roof is not complete and covered with a heavy rubber matting. Once the home is on site the rest of the roof is put on. We cut the matting into 3-4 foot wide strips and lay those out in the garden between rows of whatever you are growing. Not only does it keep weeds down it is black and it appears that it warms the soil up quicker in the spring as an additional benefit. In the fall we just roll the mats up and store them until next spring. Otherwise we use heavy straw mulch, pull the weeds that are left and use a small tiller. You might check to see if there is similar housing in your area. The crews leave the matting for the home owner to dispose of so I would guess there are people that would love to have you take it of their hands.
GuzziJohn

pmeisel · « **Reply #29 on:** September 20, 2009, 04:57:22 AM »

Newspaper with mulch over top is good -- but we don't take the paper anymore. So I tried the cardboard from soft drink cartons... it works good for the lanes between the tomato plants.....