Our vegetable garden is huge and we have MANY flower beds; so my war against weeds is a never ending battle. Between the unusual amount of rain and scorching heat it seems like the only thing growing is weeds. Weeding is a pain in the butt and it is made worse because of all the mosquitos who seem immune to anything that is designed to kill or repel them. Our next door neighbour has a green thumb beyond compare. I have been trying to pick her brain about how to fight the pesky weeds.
1. Stop pulling them!
-It is better to slice and sever the roots rather than disturbing the weeds. When you pull weeds you wake them up.
2. Use mulch!
-I often use mulch to help my perennials survive over the winter. But I didn’t realize that mulch creates a dark atmosphere which prevents the growth of weeds and using mulch in your flower beds actually supports the lives of insects that eat weed seeds.
3. Fabric does work!
-It prevents the seeds dropped by birds from getting into the soil. Using fabric between the rows in a vegetable garden with cut down on the time you spend weeding.
4. If you are going to pull weeds, it is a important to adhere to the age old adage of “pull when wet; hoe when dry”
5. Get to your weeds BEFORE they go to seed!
-Don’t wait! But if you don’t have time or your soil is too dry then it is crucial that you cut the heads off any weeds; otherwise the battle is lost before it even begins.
6. Spacing is everything!
-I used to leave lots of space between my rows and plants so that we could get the rototiller in. Since we have gotten the tiller, it has cut down my time BUT this summer in particular was incredibly wet. So wet in fact the garden flooded several times. My neighbour told me that if you don’t/can’t till it’s better that you space plants close together. Just like weeds can choke out plants; plants spaced closely together can choke out weeds.
7. Don’t water your weeds!
-As convenient as it might be to just put the sprinkler on to water the whole garden; you are actually aiding the enemy. Water only what you want to grow!