Garden weeds

Wildride47 · Jun 2, 2016

Just wondering how everyone else fights their garden weeds. My back is growing tired of normal weeding and the wheel hoe is a workout. Is there a herbicide that can be used after the vegetables are planted? For the time being I'm digging, pulling and smothering the weeds with plastic cloth

Greg

SweetFeet · Jun 2, 2016

You have to wait until all your garden seeds have come up before applying this stuff... but I like Preen Weed-Preventer. (There may be a generic version too.)

It stops seeds from germinating. It even does a number on quack grass... the quack will still grow - but will have a seriously retarded root system, which makes it very easy to loosen with a hoe and pull it out.

I apply it sparingly once all my plants are up... then once more in mid-to-late summer.

old · Jun 2, 2016

I use grass clipping to help slow the weeds down and it does help a lot plus adds thing back to the soil. My problem is I can not get enough of them to do the whole garden

pete black · Jun 2, 2016

A garden is not a plant and forget it, its a year round
thing. Weeds seeds come from mature weeds
therefore eliminate those plants. Heres how i do it:
spring i till as early as possible which allows seeds to
sprout, 7-10 days i till again which kills those
sprouted seeds but brings up other seeds to sprout,
repeat again but till somewhat shallow; this kills
sprouts but leave the remaining weed seeds to deep
to sprout. Plant and then manual hoeing to control.
Important in the fall is to clean off the garden then
plant with a cover crop for winter, i use various
greens, turnips, collards, kale and mustard. Eat
through the winter then early spring they put out
early growth to eat, blooms for sight and insects then
plow under for enrichment. This helps to control
weeds in my garden without use of chemicals.

4520BW · Jun 2, 2016

There is stuff called celetherm (sp)? that's rural king sells that will kill grass in most vegetables

dahlin · Jun 2, 2016

We have raised beds and established rows and in between the rows in the walk ways we put down card board and cover with wood chips and have very few weeds to deal with and never let them go to seed and don't give up. (The hoe is your friend)

Billy NY · Jun 2, 2016

From untreated lawns, mine and the neighbors, I will cut the grass just like hay, leaving swaths to collect with a lawnsweeper once dry. Its nice when you can get it like green hay. Light, easy to deal with, but wet or fresh is ok too, it just gets like mush and is slippery is all.

I collect what I need and lay a thick layer on the soil around the plants in the garden. I'll leave thin strips open if its fresh seed that has been planted.

The benefits are that its a mulch that prevents most if not all weeds from poking through. It provides nitrogen and protects the soil moisture, though it can be like thatch, a good rain will soak through it. I don't care for non permeable material like plastic or similar.

Pile a bunch of that green hay like grass around your sweet corn, you'll be surprised at the difference. I tested one small area a few years back, the corn really made use of it. Another corner where the soil was rocky and more clay/gravel/loam, I piled a bunch of green dried grass, the grasses there now are greener than any other area, it definitely is loaded with nitrogen.

Traditional Farmer · Jun 2, 2016

I use tillers and cultivators to keep down the weeds,work like a charm.

rustyfarmall · Jun 2, 2016

Preen works very good. I shyed away from any kind of chemical weed control in the vegetable garden until a couple of years ago. Wife and I are both wearing out and just simply cannot keep up with the weeds anymore. The only other option is to give up gardening altogether, and that ain't about to happen, so we use the Preen.

Wildride47 · Jun 2, 2016

(quoted from post at 17:28:32 06/02/16)
Preen works very good. I shyed away from any kind of chemical weed control in the vegetable garden until a couple of years ago. Wife and I are both wearing out and just simply cannot keep up with the weeds anymore. The only other option is to give up gardening altogether, and that ain't about to happen, so we use the Preen.

We use Preen in the flower beds, guess I'll give it a try as we go through and clean out this patch of weeds and see how it performs in one end first

teddy52food · Jun 2, 2016

If it does that to quack grass, what does it do to potatoes, carrots, onions & other root crops we eat?

W_B · Jun 3, 2016

We use Preen. I also have a little battery powered tiller, a Ryobi that uses the One+ battery. I have other One+ tools so this fit right in. With the big NiCad battery I can do the whole garden (it's not all that big however). It does a nice job later in the year once the Preen has worn out or in spots you missed. Sure beats a hoe!

rustyfarmall · Jun 3, 2016

(quoted from post at 19:19:32 06/02/16) If it does that to quack grass, what does it do to potatoes, carrots, onions & other root crops we eat?

We put the Preen on potatos right after planting them. Since it is not seed, the Preen doesn't stop them from growing. Our Red Norlands are doing just fine. I even dug gently around a few plants just to see, and I did find potatos. Too soon to be harvesting though. Our onions are looking good also. Amazing how much better they grow and produce when they do not have to compete with weeds.

jimg.allentown · Jun 3, 2016

How about a non-chemical solution that works well for me......
I go to one of the big hardware stores and buy a product called "weed barrier" in 50-foot rolls for $9.95.
I put this between the rows in my garden, and then I only have to weed in between the plants. I have been using it for several years, and it works well for me. What it saves me in time and trouble is worth its cost. It is also re-usable to some extent. First year, it is new. Second year, it shows some signs of wear. Third year, I use it to plant my onions on - put it down, make holes in it for the onion plants, and when season ends, it is shot.

Once, my GF asked me if it was all "worth it" to spend all of that money. I took her to a local farmers' market. When she saw what good non-chemical produce was selling for, she saw this as the bargain of the century!! Last year we tallied up the comparison between the cost of what the garden produced versus the cost of purchasing the same. BIG difference.

rustyfarmall · Jun 3, 2016

(quoted from post at 07:02:17 06/03/16) How about a non-chemical solution that works well for me......
I go to one of the big hardware stores and buy a product called "weed barrier" in 50-foot rolls for $9.95.
I put this between the rows in my garden, and then I only have to weed in between the plants. I have been using it for several years, and it works well for me. What it saves me in time and trouble is worth its cost. It is also re-usable to some extent. First year, it is new. Second year, it shows some signs of wear. Third year, I use it to plant my onions on - put it down, make holes in it for the onion plants, and when season ends, it is shot.

Once, my GF asked me if it was all "worth it" to spend all of that money. I took her to a local farmers' market. When she saw what good non-chemical produce was selling for, she saw this as the bargain of the century!! Last year we tallied up the comparison between the cost of what the garden produced versus the cost of purchasing the same. BIG difference.

But the REAL reason for raising your own food? Creamed peas and taters. Taters were still in the ground in the morning, and the peas were still on the vine. That very same evening, it is what's for supper. Also, ain't nuthin' better than a fresh, vine ripened tomato. You won't find those at the grocery store.

JBDyer · Jun 3, 2016

Sounds like a good reason to buy a tractor with a cultivator. That's what I use, I'd say a Farmall A,100,130,140 ought to do the trick.

longmeadowfarm · Jun 3, 2016

Many good and thoughtful comments. I also use the grass clipping mulch approach and for my tomatoes, squash, peppers and cucumbers I used bio-degradable paper mulch as well. Why you would use weed killer on a kitchen/farm garden is a complete mystery to me. I thought the idea was to distance yourself from the conventional /chemical farming paradigm and grow nutrient dense (BRIX) vegetables for family and friends. Look to what is happening regarding CSA (community supported agriculture) ----they don't grow crops using chemical based practices. I'm an organic farmer .. have been since I was a young man on my fathers organic farm in the 1950s. Is there a viable chemical alternative.. you betcha... but in the final analysis it is dependent on your personal value system and whether or not you want to pass on a polluted or clean planet to our children.. simple as that.

rustyfarmall · Jun 3, 2016

(quoted from post at 13:38:59 06/03/16) Sounds like a good reason to buy a tractor with a cultivator. That's what I use, I'd say a Farmall A,100,130,140 ought to do the trick.

A small, backyard garden won't accomodate something like that unless there are no fences around the garden. If there are no fences, then the rabbits, racoons, and deer will just help themselves to all of my hardwork. No thanks. I'll stick with the preen.

Geo-TH,In · Jun 4, 2016

Leafs. Cover garden with all the leafs I vacuum up in Fall. Use Post hole digger on Jubilee to make holes to plant tomatoes and peppers. Have bagged leafs from another property. Keep the dirt from post hole digger covered with leafs

End of garden, scrape everything up with loader, put trash in mulch pile. Add new leafs in the fall again. I plant, pick, scrape off and start over. Very little pulling weeds. No chemicals.

I add about 5 ton of new mulch for raised beds. Don't use last years garden trash in new mulch.

At my other property a guy who has a small yard service brings me grass clippings. That gets mixed in a new pile mulch pile consisting of Horse poo, sawdust, and a little top soil. When it rains, you can detect the sweet smell of a good mulch pile.
Have no use for my tillers. Besides the pony is my least favorite tiller. Wish I never bought it.

geo.

rustyfarmall · Jun 4, 2016

(quoted from post at 06:01:44 06/04/16) Leafs. Cover garden with all the leafs I vacuum up in Fall. Use Post hole digger on Jubilee to make holes to plant tomatoes and peppers. Have bagged leafs from another property. Keep the dirt from post hole digger covered with leafs

End of garden, scrape everything up with loader, put trash in mulch pile. Add new leafs in the fall again. I plant, pick, scrape off and start over. Very little pulling weeds. No chemicals.

I add about 5 ton of new mulch for raised beds. Don't use last years garden trash in new mulch.

At my other property a guy who has a small yard service brings me grass clippings. That gets mixed in a new pile mulch pile consisting of Horse poo, sawdust, and a little top soil. When it rains, you can detect the sweet smell of a good mulch pile.
Have no use for my tillers. Besides the pony is my least favorite tiller. Wish I never bought it.

geo.

I live way out in the country. On top of a ridge where the wind blows. The leaves all blow away before I can rake them, and even if I could use them as mulch, they would blow out of the garden. Grass clippings? I mow 1 1/2 acres of grass. If I tried to bag those clippings, I would spend most of my time just emptying the bags. It would be less work to just pull the weeds in the garden by hand.

Geo-TH,In · Jun 4, 2016

By the time my leafs goes through the mower's 3 blades and the fan on the vacuum wagon, there is only fine particles that don't blow away. Get them wet and impossible to go flying.

Garden weeds

Member

Well-known Member

Well-known Member

Well-known Member

Well-known Member

Member

Well-known Member

Well-known Member

Well-known Member

Member

Well-known Member

Well-known Member

Well-known Member

Well-known Member

Well-known Member

Member

Member

Well-known Member

Well-known Member

Well-known Member

Well-known Member

Similar threads