Weeds!

Weeds! And What to Do About Them

I am an Oregon State University Extension Service Master Gardener. So, you would think my garden would be immaculate, right? Well, no. That's my first confession - my garden is full of weeds. 

I have a no spray policy (although Master Gardeners do sometimes use sprays responsibly) for a bunch of reasons involving treading lightly on the planet, saving the bees, and not poisoning my daughter (and husband - who would be the one tasked to apply it). 

So I use sustainable weed management strategies:

• Mulch - lots of it! And failing to do it in time this year has caused my weeds to take off like nobody's business. Generally - apply a good two to three inches of quality mulch in mid spring (after - in my garden at least - the "volunteers" or self seeded annuals and perennials have come up and can be identified). Then you can apply another layer in late fall to protect your garden and "put it to bed" for the winter. 


• Hand weeding. This is the bit that takes the time and has to be done regularly - there is a saying that you have probably heard - one years seeding is seven years weeding. Well we bought a fairly abandoned estate property so  who knows how many years seeding we are dealing with. A lot! And nasty weeds - dock especially, and broom, and purslane. So you just have to pull it. With that in mind, tools help - a good sharp hoe make the job much easier if you have enough room around your plants. Otherwise, hand weeding, after you have watered so the roots come out easily. 


• Speaking of space- thats my next trick. Plant everything closer together. That way the weeds dont get enough light and moisture to really thrive, and the ones that grow up are easy to spot. I recently got a new gardening book (a weakness of mine) called Matrix Planting and its brilliant since it justifies my habit of putting things really close together and letting nature take its course. 


• Selective watering is really important. Overhead watering will encourage every little weed seed to sprout. I have seen this dramatically this year in my garden as I started a new garden on a bank that was basically clay post construction of an addition. Since I havent had a chance to put in any soaker hoses, I plunked out a sprinkler and put it on a timer. Within a week I had a lawn of weeds! Thats taking the most time to weed even though it makes up a small fraction of my garden. So note to self - dont do that again.


• Corn Gluten Meal is supposed to work to stop seeds germinating, but I havent personally tried it since I have been starting a lot from seed directly in the beds and the corn gluten meal will stop poppy seeds just as well as dock I assume. But once the bed is established, I am going to buy me a sack!

I am sure there is another good thing to do, but its late and I've forgotten... so check back next week....