Stop Weeding Your Gardens And Do This Easy Trick

Surprisingly, not many people know that you can easily keep weeds out of your garden.  Weeds not only are unsightly, but they steal the nutrients from the plants you are trying to grow.  Hand weeding takes forever and, I don't know about you, but by the time I'm done weeding, I feel like I turn around and more have snuck up and started growing.  It's a never ending process.  The store bought commercial weed block is expensive and once you want to tear it up, it just shreds.  Chemical sprays, like Round-Up, aren't very good for the environment.  They harm beneficial insects and I don't want that stuff anywhere near my veggie garden.  I don't need to eat poison.  Mulching your garden will help tremendously, especially if you use a mulch that will decompose and feed your plants.  Rocks and plastic mulch will work, but rocks are hard to weed around and very hard to dig in and the plastic will leach chemicals into your beds.

I like to use wood mulch or straw/hay but unless I get it really thick (4 or more inches), I still get a lot of weeds.  Thick mulching prevents soil erosion, retains moisture in the soil, and keeps the roots of the plant warm during the cold winters.  Laying down cardboard or newspapers really helps keep weed seeds from germinating in the ground and weeds from roots already in the soil won't grow through it.  You can even lay it directly over your lawn and not have to de-sod first when putting in a new garden or expanding an existing one.  This makes less work, it saves me from buying lots of expensive mulch, and I can recycle paper and cardboard!  Win, win, win!  Another great benefit of using these materials for weed control is that they decompose and become part of the soil so it feeds your plants.  Another win!

Now you may think, how am I suppose to get tons of boxes or newspaper?  Who gets a newspaper anymore?  You can ask people (Craigslist, friends, neighbors, even enemies - but only if you need to) for leftover newspapers or find a local recycling drop off and get the newspapers from there.  I have found that cardboard boxes are easily found for free from grocery and other stores. Cardboard is the best material to use for weed control in large areas because it's easier to handle then several sheets of newspaper.  The cardboard is also heavy enough that, when wetted, won't blow away like newspapers.  For curved beds, just cut your newspaper or cardboard to follow the curves.  Cardboard is also good for as a base for a lasagna garden or raised vegetable bed.

Some tips for using cardboard:

• Use brown cardboard only—avoid white, brightly printed or waxed.
• Remove any tape or staples.
• Overlap edges by about 6 inches.
• Water the cardboard well before you add mulch.
• Poke holes through the wet cardboard if you need to add plants.
• You can add wood chips, straw, compost, or any other organic material on top.
• Newspaper can be used instead of cardboard

 If using newspaper is easier for you, use 4-5 sheets (or more).

Since cardboard is a "brown" and carbon rich, include nitrogen-rich "green" materials, like compost, coffee grounds, cured manure. Here’s a little trick: sprinkle a light layer of rotting vegetables on top of the garden area before you put down the cardboard to entice worms. When making a new vegetable garden, cover the cardboard with a 1-3″ layer of composted manure or other finished compost and then cover that with clean straw or leaves.

Will you eventually get weeds?  Yes.  There is no barrier, cardboard or landscape fabric, will stop wind-born seeds or runners that creep over from another area.  If you keep your garden well mulched on top of the cardboard, you will find that weeds are easier to remove or rake through.