Weeds--How do you control them?

[big brown horse]

Very cool, BBH! All those nutrients going right back to the plants.

Tonight, I got to use my very favorite weed-control method: Massive mulching with composted manure. My husband found an old compost pile in one of the barns on the farm and brought my 3 skid steer loads. It was just beautiful. Crumbly and dark brown. I mulched the asparagus, rhubarb and herbs with a thick layer of the beautiful stuff. Now, please, if it just is weed-seed free I will be in good shape with those things.

When something starts to sprout on top of my hay/compost mulch, I just turn that spot over so the sprouts are on the bottom. They dont get sunlight and they die. It should work for your new discovery of compost! (How lucky!)

I think I am obsessed with mulch. I am constantly looking or more stuff to stick on top of my garden.

I have designed a fire pit by the horse pasture that I am going to burn their poo when it dries out. The ashes are supposed to be awesome for the garden.

 

[Lovechooks]

I hand weed everything, use a hoe for the paths and a some smaller gardening tools for the hand weeding, whipper snipper for the edging.

 

[Broke Down Ranch]

I have tried using old hay for mulch but the stuff always seems to sprout and becomes a weed all on it's own!

This year I planted my garden fairly densely and had few problems with weeds once the plants got pretty big. The weeds didn't really get going on my beets/lettuce/spinach rows any faster then the veggies did so I just pulled once the veggies had been up a couple of weeks....

 

[HiDelight]

I have designed a fire pit by the horse pasture that I am going to burn their poo when it dries out. The ashes are supposed to be awesome for the garden.

I wonder if you could burn chicken poo and have the same effect ..but only if the wind is going in my "favorite" neigbors direction!!!!

seriously I was just thinking what if you mixed chicken poo with fruit wood ash ? how good would that be burned and could you use the chicken poo sooner?



I am going to try to compost mulch between my raised beds on the tiers it will keep my boxes warmer that is for sure!

I have one big area to finish weeding and hopefully everything has taken hold enough so this is my last year of having to do this ..I am down to weeding only twice a year (other than the odd pulling as I wander around)

just by using raised beds and cramming plants I want in and digging those I do not want out! then composting them in huge piles all over the place when I get tired of looking at them I cover them with poo and black plastic then ignore them until they are a new flower or vegetable bed

someday I will be organized

 

[boggybranch]

A little over a year ago, I started using the "Ruth Stout No-Work Gardening" method of year-round mulching. I use costal bermuda hay, as it is a plant propagated grass instead of seed propagated.This past year was my first using this method. Will NEVER have a "bare ground" garden again. Watered very little (not even sure I needed to do that, but couldn't help myself...aka...old habits), very, very little weed and grass problem (with the exception of nutgrass, which I think can come up through concrete if it takes a mind to).
98% of my time gardening was spent being lazy, the other 2% was taken up with planting and harvesting........and fighting fire ants.

 

[ducks4you]

Sounds, great! BTW,

 

[boggybranch]

Thanks, glad to be here.....Hope you have a Merry Quackmas...the duck equivalent to Christmas. LOL

 

[big brown horse]

A little over a year ago, I started using the "Ruth Stout No-Work Gardening" method of year-round mulching. I use costal bermuda hay, as it is a plant propagated grass instead of seed propagated.This past year was my first using this method. Will NEVER have a "bare ground" garden again. Watered very little (not even sure I needed to do that, but couldn't help myself...aka...old habits), very, very little weed and grass problem (with the exception of nutgrass, which I think can come up through concrete if it takes a mind to).
98% of my time gardening was spent being lazy, the other 2% was taken up with planting and harvesting........and fighting fire ants.

Another "Routh Stout" fan!

 

[boggybranch]

Yep....have converted the entire garden into raised and boxed beds......but STILL using Ms Ruth's method. Keep a roll of hay around, continuously.