weed control

[noqgardener]

this is my first year having a garden and the weeds are terrible, I have heard that weeds are worst the first year a garden is worked up I still need to do something, My husband said he would till between the rows this weekend but it might be too wet. what can I do to help get rid of the weeds? I have black and white newspapers around some of the plants, it seems to help but not much. It is a large garden so unless I can mow my lawn and use the cuttings as mulch I can't afford mulch right now. And the only papers I get are 2 weekly shoppers guides so it would take all summer to get enough to cover my garden.
Thanks in advance.

[rootsy]

A hoe is a mighty handy tool... A strong back and calloused hands are beneficial also...

[Roger]

By hand/hoe is the best immediate way. If it is too wet to till, then it is just wet enough to hand pull weeds: they are easier to pull when the soil is wet and loose. I would start weeding, and concentrate on circles about a foot from the base of each and every plant. Everything out from that 1 foot circle is less of a problem and not really competing with/threatening your plants - it can be dealt with over time.

Focusing on this smaller area also makes it a lot less intimidating when you are looking at a garden getting out of hand Just gradually, every couple of days, expand the weeding zone outwards a little, a couple of inches - before you know it, you will only be pinching small weeds just getting started.

A mower works wonders for a quick haircut between rows or large areas where nothing is planted. Or a weed-eater. Just be careful not to snip your plants too !

[pete28]

I hate to say it but there is no easy way to weed in a garden. I highly recommend the wet soil method that everyone has mentioned. Do it just after a rain or after watering. I was outside for a few hours yesterday doing this. Or if you have some children perhaps you could enlist them? My girls enjoy helping me out.

[noqgardener]

I hate to say it but there is no easy way to weed in a garden. I highly recommend the wet soil method that everyone has mentioned. Do it just after a rain or after watering. I was outside for a few hours yesterday doing this. Or if you have some children perhaps you could enlist them? My girls enjoy helping me out.

my kids are no help my daughter won't get messy, and my son will eat the weeds and dirt (well at least try to) My husband decided to try to till anyway and said it tilled easier than when it was wet.

[mbaker410]

I weeded my whole garden with a shovel and a knife. I use the knife for the individual weeds like crab grass and I cut in a circular motion under the soil where the roots of the weeds are. Then I just pull them out.

For the grass and bigger clumps I just dig up with a shovel separate as much soil from the roots as possible and put it back into the garden. You can use a knife for this as well but takes longer.

My garden is 8x16 and I did it in less than an hour.

[Gardener Don]

You definitely can use your grass clippings. Just be sure you don't place them to thick near the plant since they will tend to heat. OK, Ok, you might get some weeds/grass growing from the seed, but it is a heck of a lot better than constantly pulling weeds. The clippings have some nitrogen in them and will till wonderfully into the soil come fall. Anything organic is wonderful.

[hendi_alex]

It won't help you this year, but for next year you may want to consider gong to raised beds with a weed barrier and mulch between, combined with some high density technicque like square foot gardening. You can go without raised beds and simply create a grid of planting zones with mulched walks between. For a more conventional garden with long rows, IMO there is no easy solution. If you don't mind chemicals, you can treat with a pre-emergent herbicide between gardening seasons. You can invest in large amounts of plastic film mulch, place drip or soaker irrigation under the plastic and plant in indivdual planting holes. An alternative is to place plastic as near the rows as possible. Personally I don't like any of the options that rely on consumable use of plasic or chemicals, but they are viable options. For the larger parts of my garden I tend to do just what you are doing, mostly plowing between rows with the tiller and doing some hand pulling where absolutely necessary. Most of my planting is with high density methods in permanent beds with walks between. The weeds are not much of a problems in those areas, just an occasional hoeing and/or hand pulling. For our flower beds and a few of the vegetable plants and rows we use layers of newspaper covered by straw or other mulch.

One of the problems with plowing is that it simply raises a new generation of seeds to the surface. They sprout and in a couple of weeks you are back to square one again.

Good luck, hang in there. Most of all, don't get frustrated and quit gardening. You would be amzed at the decrease in effort accompanied by large quantitity of produce that results when a person downsizes and moves to high density techniques. My most productive planting takes place in about the equivalent of a 14' x 14' plot. That gives us more green beans, peppers, tomatoes, salad greens, egg plant, cucumbers, squash, corn, and more than we can usually eat fresh. This year and last, I've started planting a few traditional rows outside of the bed area for corn, squash, cantalope, tomatoes for drying, cucumbers, and beans. Soil is so poor in those areas, return has been minimal to this point. The row of romas is doing well this year. Cantalopes did well last year. Most everything outside of the beds has been a bust and is still a work in progress, trying to find what will work in those longer rows, bigger blocks with little compost and lots of poor dry sand.