Weeding Techniques

[chickenheart]

my two favorites are using the stirrup hoe (or action hoe or what i otherwise call a scraper) and when doing closer work between plants i use either a small trowel or a large knife.

the main reasons for liking both of these tools and techniques is that they do not have to stir much of the garden soil around to be effective and so that means you're not moving a lot of weed seeds around in the soil layers. by not moving the seed around much you will not be moving them into the germination zone.

the scraper can be used to just skim along the surface to cut the weeds off or just to skim below the surface (which may not mix the soil much if you use only one pass). with the knife i just stick it into the soil along the side of the weed and slice the root off a few inches down. for most weeds this is enough to make it easy to remove the weed without moving much of the garden soil. note this also depends a lot upon what kind of garden soil you have and the surrounding area conditions, mulches, etc.

if i have room and the ground is not recently wet enough i like to also use the ground pillow to sit on while using the knife or trowel.

today's task was to get going back on the North Garden where the onions are planted to get that garden back to better condition instead of looking a bit overrun. i should have taken before and after pics, but didn't. i did get all the onions weeded around and they should do much better for it. there were a few spots where squash plants were going to take over if i let them keep getting bigger and i sure didn't want that to happen. those onions are something we really enjoy when they are harvested. we eat a lot of onions normally. we have the large Candy and some yellow onions.

2 hrs to clear the weeds from the edge above and to the side of the onions and then kept working down further until i got tired enough.

i wish i had three hands so i could hold a camera and record what i'm doing while doing it...

and then the usual caveats also apply, like know what kind of weed you're dealing with so you can pick the right approach in removing it... work from the uphill to the bottom so if you don't finish at least you're improving the area you have managed to get to... clean off your shoes and garden tools to keep from spreading weed seeds around.

I love using a stirrup hoe too, just skimming the surface to slice the weeds without disturbing the soil much. For tight spots, a trowel or knife works wonders. Keeps the weed seeds from moving around and sprouting. I totally get the struggle of juggling tools and trying to document the process—three hands would be perfect!

 

[Shades-of-Oregon]

Anyone have any ideas how to get rid of those weeds that pop up the middle of plants or thru the crown.?
I’ve been cutting them out trying not to destroy garden plants .
The worst to clear out are the wild blackberry canes that pop up everywhere. Can’t dig them out without causing more harm to nearby plants and bulbs.
In winter or dormancy period I can go thru areas with a paint brush and tap the freshly cut canes with brush killer. Seems to help .
I use a long 4’ handle tool to dig tap roots - eco dandelion weeder tool .

​

 

[flowerbug]

I'm pleased that you comment on various types of weeds on TEG, FlowerBug.

some i have a hard time remembering the names and may not get them quite right.

as an aside that fits this thread, today while going after some small sprouts of poison ivy as i was walkng back i noticed a larger vine of poison ivy that had snuck in and gotten established in the south treeline under some honeysuckle bushes. that's going to be a task for another time to deal with for sure. so i got rid of two new sprouts and reweeded a previously infested patch that was sprouting again, and then found a new one i didn't know about, but oh well, it could be a lot worse (and it has been in the past).

It isn't that I  love seeing them each year but, I do have to have an interest in them because my garden partners (wanted plants) should not be in competition with them. One of my jobs is to help the partners ... I guess that is my ONLY job as a gardener .

So, I have to know something about the weeds, think about their life cycles – for example, how quickly will they grow, bloom and set seeds? Do they have rhizomes? Experience but names help with categorizing and remembering characteristics.

it fits under the idea "Know thy enemy." but there are other interesting aspects of weeds, they can tell you something about your soil conditions and some provide valuable nutrients if you can dry them out enough to completely kill them off before using them as mulch or bury them.

There are fewer species to deal with in 2024 without the distant garden and its "field weeds" from having been a hay field and its proximity to corn and fallow ground. A few different weeds here at home and, really, just as problematic by the square foot.

heh, when you have many hundred square feets to manage it can be a challenge for sure no matter what their names might be. i probably have six or more buckets of purslane in one garden alone that i'm working on this week. i'm wondering if i'm going to get it done as i can only get a few hours a day of work in before i'm getting too hot or tired. it does look better each day and i'm scraping a part of the task because that garden is not so far along that i have to do it by hand. so that may be a good result of skipping around and doing some work in the harder parts for a while and then i go do something else in the easier part and then go back again...

 

[Shades-of-Oregon]

How much is many hundreds feet ? Just curious.

I like some weeds how bout those rain lilies that fill the pastures with pretty little pink flowers.

 

[digitS']

How much is many hundreds feet

Mine? During the final years of the Big Veggie Garden it was downsized to 30' by 200'. There were several years when it was extended in an L-shape and was larger. Enough production to sell at a farmers' market.

The backyard garden was tiny during all of those years. It was enlarged for 2024 but is still small. Let's see ... excluding flower beds, I was thinking this Spring that the veggie part is now 700 square feet.

Steve

 

[flowerbug]

How much is many hundreds feet ? Just curious.

Anthive

Gardener

www.anthive.com

I like some weeds how bout those rain lilies that fill the pastures with pretty little pink flowers.View attachment 67415

in the yard/grassy areas that are left i only weed certain plants which i don't want to spread into the surrounding gardens. some weeds i don't do anything with at all because i actually like them.

we have a lot of thymes and mints that have wandered into the grassy areas so those we just mow and call it good enough. i wouldn't mind at all if they took over completely.

in the more formal perennial gardens or the bare dirt veggie gardens i am weeding just to remove competition for water and nutrients and i'll recycle weeds in place by laying them on the surface to dry out so they can become worm food. the problem though is that some weeds like purslane take way too long to dry out so they need to be removed completely or they'll likely reroot or have enough time to develop and drop seeds which i want to avoid as they can drop a zillion seeds...

 

[digitS']

@flowerbug , have you ever seen a purslane seed? I have never noticed a seed but it must be one in a zillion. The flowers are easy to overlook, as well. Purslane may be the top, bad weed in the garden. And yet, they are so easy to pull.

Yes, there are others. Oxalis is really an easy one to overlook. Hides in the shade and blooms while tiny. The Roots Run Deep, however. And, the plants seem almost  made to break at soil level. If the root remains, it quickly replaces the above ground parts.

Bindweed creeps in. Neighbors ignore it. Perennial, it sprawls on top the ground and sprawls below ground.

Steve

 

[flowerbug]

@flowerbug , have you ever seen a purslane seed? I have never noticed a seed but it must be one in a zillion. The flowers are easy to overlook, as well. Purslane may be the top, bad weed in the garden. And yet, they are so easy to pull.

this picture has some in it (the four black dots almost in a line above the little hammer shape).

they are not easy to pull from compacted clay soil, but if i've cultivated recently enough they will come out ok. otherwise i have to use the knife to get them out.

Yes, there are others. Oxalis is really an easy one to overlook. Hides in the shade and blooms while tiny. The Roots Run Deep, however. And, the plants seem almost  made to break at soil level. If the root remains, it quickly replaces the above ground parts.

you can pull the tops off easy enough but for sure there are roots down there to get out if you want to remove it entirely. cultivating and the scraper both help surface those roots for removing or letting dry in the sun.

Bindweed creeps in. Neighbors ignore it. Perennial, it sprawls on top the ground and sprawls below ground.

gladly we don't have that in the gardens or the yard but it is along the road a ways down so i keep an eye out for it. morning glories are bad enough i sure would not want an even more invasive relative...

 

[Shades-of-Oregon]

In the PNW scotch broom is on the noxious weed list .
Scotch broom reproduces by seed. Each seed can remain viable for over 30 years, some other estimates are as long as 80 years.
The seed heads when ripe can explode the seeds hundreds of feet in the air. The seed pods are 5” long with a sharp hook on the end which also finds its way in animals fur causing many issues in many species.
Bio control includes a seed weevil that feeds on the seeds and insecticide’s.

Pic of scotch broom.

 

[flowerbug]

Anyone have any ideas how to get rid of those weeds that pop up the middle of plants or thru the crown.?

getting them early is the best approach i know of so far.