Organic Weed control
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Posted: Mar/30/2007 9:29 PM PST
Hi everyone, This will be my first year attempting to garden as I have never had a yard before. I have done the herb garden indoors and am great with house plants so I am so excited to dive into this. Everything else in my life is organic so naturally, so will my garden. I have but one problem. Last year my boyfriend bought a house and let the weeds get out of control. When I went up there I weeded what I could but it was late fall and they had already spread their seeds. I am looking for a way to keep the seeds from germinating. I have been looking into some natural sprays such as burn out and corn gluten meal. Also I plan on doing a paper mulch and topping with soil. Not sure if that is the best way to go so I am all open to suggestions and a little direction. Also, I am wondering if it will be even possible to plant anything this spring or fall due to the weeds. Should I just prepare the soil this year and wait till next year to plant? I live in Saskatchewan Canada if that helps out. Still quite cool out but I am started to clean the yard and spring is definately in the air. |
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Posted: Mar/30/2007 9:50 PM PST
Welcome to GG Twi. All I can advise you of, is that I find mulching and not tilling helps keep the weeds at bay a bit. Weeds are something that we all have to live with, unfortunately. |
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Posted: Mar/30/2007 11:12 PM PST
Yeah I don't MIND weeds it's just they had completely taken over his whole yard. It's one of those stone yards too where I would prefer grass. Anyways, I just want to get rid of as many as I can because I know from last year there are going to be ten times more because of the seeds. My main concern is of course the garden bed back there. Do you think that mulching will help quite a bit with stopping most of them from germinating? Like I said last year was weed jungle out there and we don't want that again lol.  Also, why is tilling a bad idea? Would I be able to do it just once or should I wait till next year to turn the soil? |
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Posted: Mar/30/2007 11:50 PM PST
Quote: Originally posted by twilghteyes Yeah I don't MIND weeds it's just they had completely taken over his whole yard. It's one of those stone yards too where I would prefer grass. Anyways, I just want to get rid of as many as I can because I know from last year there are going to be ten times more because of the seeds. My main concern is of course the garden bed back there. Do you think that mulching will help quite a bit with stopping most of them from germinating? Like I said last year was weed jungle out there and we don't want that again lol.Mulching does keep the weed population down, turning the soil brings seeds up to the surface that have been lying dormant. We need Ron in here to advise you. He's got it down pat.  Just wait someone will come by with more knowledge than I have. |
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Posted: Mar/31/2007 1:42 AM PST
Thanks so much Cathryn I really appreciate I am so GREEN at this outdoor gardening thing. |
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Posted: Mar/31/2007 2:41 AM PST
Depends on what you're planting, though. Corn gluten adds nitrogen, and it is a preemergent herbicide, meaning it it will kill seeds. If you are planting seeds you shouldn't add corn gluten until the seedlings have their true leaves. It's a particularly good remedy for crabgrass. |
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Posted: Mar/31/2007 4:06 AM PST
Thanks Bluebelle~ Now what if I use the gluten this year and don't plant seeds until next year?? Will the reminants hurt the seeds? And if I plant shrubs or hearty plants can I do that this year or should I also wait for next year? Sorry guys, as you can see I have no idea what I am doing and just want to do it right, I am a perfectionist. lol. |
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Posted: May/25/2008 8:43 PM PST
Quote: Originally posted by sashweezy We need Ron in here to advise you. He's got it down pat.Just wait someone will come by with more knowledge than I have. well, who's this ron? i could use similar advice myself |
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Posted: Jul/11/2008 10:54 AM PST
Ron unfortunately has left us for personal reasons. Someone else should be able to give you a hand. |
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Posted: Jul/11/2008 5:55 PM PST
You could try vineger to kill the weeds, thats what we use on our flagstone walkway. We use one part vineger to 2 parts water it does a great job on the weeds that try to grow. I use a spray bottle due to the fact that its a small space and it does not affect the area around it it only kills stuff where we spray it. Tilling the weeds under will only make your weed problem go away for a short time before it comes back to bite you in the butt. The weeds will sprout just when your plants need the space and you will have a uphill battle to kill them. We had a similar problem in one of our garden spaces. We had over planted it for several years in a row with out letting it rest well the year we let it rest we forgot to tarp it after we spread the compost and manure. and that spring was real wet so by the time we got to it the weeds were waist high. We tarped it and let the composting processtake care of the weeds. It was a total sucess our summers are hot so it got way to dark and steamie for anything to grow. I hope that helps. |
