Weed control for starting a new garden
General Brentwood, CA
I am starting a 1/2 acre vegetable garden, and I want to manage the weeds best right from the start. The area is in disuse right now, so I am basically starting from scratch. The plot is full of weeds right now: mostly pigweed, thistle, morning glory, nettle, and some grass. What are the best options for getting rid of the largest amount of weeds, now and in the long term, when starting a new garden? I can't use any terrible herbicides, and I want to be as environmentally friendly as possible. Thanks!
garden area
Posted
by: Marlene
(3 points)
Posted: May 27, 2014
Answers
What a lovely large area!
I have a similar weedy situation. I'm moving to a house that has lots of annual weeds that have already gone to seed. Normally I'd simply cut down the weeds, cover them with overlapping layers of cardboard, and add as much mulch as I could find on top of the cardboard (max. 4 inches deep for any areas under the canopy of a tree). The cardboard inhibits germination by excluding light, and the thick layer of mulch makes it easy to pull anything that makes it through. The technique is called sheet mulching (lots of resources online) and a variation of it is called lasagna gardening.
But with this many weed seeds, we've been trying to reduce the soil weed-seed bank first. My partner has been string-trimming to cut back the weeds and then raking up as many seeds as possible. I like to pull weeds, so I've been working on different areas, pulling up the weeds. (We're also in northern Calif., so the soil is bone dry and will remain so all summer.) One area has blackberries, so those will need special care -- digging down a foot or two to slow it down as much as possible.
In your situation, I'd be most concerned about the thistles -- tons of seed, grow fast, hard to keep on top of if you turn your back for a moment, and a real nuisance to handle if you wait until they're all prickly. Maybe the morning glory, if it's actually perennial bindweed (white flowers), a persistent weed that comes back if you leave even a tiny bit of root. I grow nettles in my garden as a vegetable, and they're easy to pull out when small if you don't want them. Pigweed: is that an amaranth? If so, easy to pull. My strategy would be to remove seedheads of thistles, then sheet-mulch now. I'd then plant some cover crops in the fall to improve the soil (assuming we get rain in the fall/winter), and keep an eye out for weeds for the first year or two.
Another strategy is to solarize.
http://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/PMG/PESTNO...
Cut down the weeds and cover securely with plastic. You'd want as many seeds as possible to germinate, so you could also disturb the soil a bit before covering it and/or water the site before adding the plastic; anything you do to disturb the soil will cause more weed seeds to germinate. According to UC, it takes 4-6 weeks during the hottest months of the year to kill weed seeds by solarizing, so (I'm assuming Brentwood is hot now) you could do two rounds. That is, maybe disturb the soil the first time, cover with plastic, let it be for 4-6 weeks, then uncover and disturb the soil some more (and/or water), and cover again for 4-6 more weeks.
I have a similar weedy situation. I'm moving to a house that has lots of annual weeds that have already gone to seed. Normally I'd simply cut down the weeds, cover them with overlapping layers of cardboard, and add as much mulch as I could find on top of the cardboard (max. 4 inches deep for any areas under the canopy of a tree). The cardboard inhibits germination by excluding light, and the thick layer of mulch makes it easy to pull anything that makes it through. The technique is called sheet mulching (lots of resources online) and a variation of it is called lasagna gardening.
But with this many weed seeds, we've been trying to reduce the soil weed-seed bank first. My partner has been string-trimming to cut back the weeds and then raking up as many seeds as possible. I like to pull weeds, so I've been working on different areas, pulling up the weeds. (We're also in northern Calif., so the soil is bone dry and will remain so all summer.) One area has blackberries, so those will need special care -- digging down a foot or two to slow it down as much as possible.
In your situation, I'd be most concerned about the thistles -- tons of seed, grow fast, hard to keep on top of if you turn your back for a moment, and a real nuisance to handle if you wait until they're all prickly. Maybe the morning glory, if it's actually perennial bindweed (white flowers), a persistent weed that comes back if you leave even a tiny bit of root. I grow nettles in my garden as a vegetable, and they're easy to pull out when small if you don't want them. Pigweed: is that an amaranth? If so, easy to pull. My strategy would be to remove seedheads of thistles, then sheet-mulch now. I'd then plant some cover crops in the fall to improve the soil (assuming we get rain in the fall/winter), and keep an eye out for weeds for the first year or two.
Another strategy is to solarize.
http://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/PMG/PESTNO...
Cut down the weeds and cover securely with plastic. You'd want as many seeds as possible to germinate, so you could also disturb the soil a bit before covering it and/or water the site before adding the plastic; anything you do to disturb the soil will cause more weed seeds to germinate. According to UC, it takes 4-6 weeks during the hottest months of the year to kill weed seeds by solarizing, so (I'm assuming Brentwood is hot now) you could do two rounds. That is, maybe disturb the soil the first time, cover with plastic, let it be for 4-6 weeks, then uncover and disturb the soil some more (and/or water), and cover again for 4-6 more weeks.
Posted
by: Tanya in the Garden
(128 points)
Posted: May 27, 2014
Erika Haines commented,
Thanks. Your reply is helpful to me. One question abt sheet-mulching: whats the best way to plant desired seeds once cardboard and mulch are in place? Must holes be drilled/cut out then seeds planted within? Isnt there a risk of plants not growing properly if they have limited access to sunlight?? Thanks, E almost 10 years ago.
Thanks. Your reply is helpful to me. One question abt sheet-mulching: whats the best way to plant desired seeds once cardboard and mulch are in place? Must holes be drilled/cut out then seeds planted within? Isnt there a risk of plants not growing properly if they have limited access to sunlight?? Thanks, E almost 10 years ago.
Tanya in the Garden commented,
If you want to plant right away, you can make soil pockets in the mulch, and plant seeds in the soil pockets. (That is, push aside the mulch, add some soil or potting mix or compost, and plant in that.) You can also cut slits in the cardboard, but you run the risk of weeds coming through.
If you're going to wait until the rainy season to plant, the mulch may be partly composted by then. If not, get some soil or potting mix or compost and plant in soil pockets. almost 10 years ago.
If you want to plant right away, you can make soil pockets in the mulch, and plant seeds in the soil pockets. (That is, push aside the mulch, add some soil or potting mix or compost, and plant in that.) You can also cut slits in the cardboard, but you run the risk of weeds coming through.
If you're going to wait until the rainy season to plant, the mulch may be partly composted by then. If not, get some soil or potting mix or compost and plant in soil pockets. almost 10 years ago.
The information already provided is very good. I'd only add, one technique we use is to till the surface, irrigate, then till the surface, irrigate, on and on and on. We are forcing weed seeds to germinate and then destroying them. There are pros and cons....if you can do this about 4 times, a decent amount of seed can be germinated...but there is no such thing as getting all of it. So really this is a variation of the solarization technique described above. We also use a weed flamer but...you have to be careful with burning, it may not be legal in your case, and even that doesn't kill all the seed....but a hot fire can do some damage to many surface seeds. Our best success comes from mulch. We mulch with plastic...but denying weed seeds light to germinate goes very, very far.
Posted
by: Deborah Raven-Lindley
(4 points)
Posted: May 29, 2014
I've had good luck with cuting the plants short and layering with cardboard for a few weeks, make sure you weigh it down or mulch on top or it will be in the neighborhood everywhere. I also use 4 or more sheets of newspaper under mulch (usually ruined hay or straw).
But most often I use the Ruth Stout method; a deep layer of ruined hay over winter. In spring he ground is bare underneath as the weeds have been smothered. The hay will drop more seed, but it is no big deal, as there are already millions and millions of weed seeds already present.
Anyhow, come spring you pull the hay back where you want to plant, and when your garden plants start to come up, put the mulch back around them. The weeds that do make it through are usually spindly and weak, easy to pull.
Other benefits are great water conservation, as the mulch prevents evaporation, and little watering need be done. Also, the hay composts back into the soil (you will have to add some over time) and does a great job feeding the soil.
Just remember to keep 8-10" of hay at all times or the weeds will sprout!
You can find Ruth Stouts' books on used book sites, they are from the 1970's and out of print I think: The Ruth Stout No Work Garden Book.
But most often I use the Ruth Stout method; a deep layer of ruined hay over winter. In spring he ground is bare underneath as the weeds have been smothered. The hay will drop more seed, but it is no big deal, as there are already millions and millions of weed seeds already present.
Anyhow, come spring you pull the hay back where you want to plant, and when your garden plants start to come up, put the mulch back around them. The weeds that do make it through are usually spindly and weak, easy to pull.
Other benefits are great water conservation, as the mulch prevents evaporation, and little watering need be done. Also, the hay composts back into the soil (you will have to add some over time) and does a great job feeding the soil.
Just remember to keep 8-10" of hay at all times or the weeds will sprout!
You can find Ruth Stouts' books on used book sites, they are from the 1970's and out of print I think: The Ruth Stout No Work Garden Book.
Posted
by: Jen H
(1 point)
Posted: August 31, 2014
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