Re: Organic/weed control
- Subject: Re: Organic/weed control
- From: M* T*
- Date: Mon, 30 Jul 2001 01:45:39 -0400
Well, Anne, I actually have some Round-up, but have only used it once
or twice...the jug just sits there. I pull weeds. Yes, it's a fair
amount of work, but I found I have to get rid of the dead foliage if
I use an herbicide, so might as well have the fresh compost
ingredients. New beds and the gravel drive are the areas requiring
the most weeding. Old beds all have groundcover - no exposed ground
at all - and require only a going over once a year and the yanking of
stray woody seedlings, etc.
With your new ground, you will have a job cut out for you to start
with. IMO, if you want to stay organic about it you need to mow the
area you want to plant really short - scalp it - and then cover the
area with layers of wet newspaper and mulch for a season to kill the
perennial weed roots and then prepare the ground and plant....or just
use the "lasagna" bed technique.
If you want to get to planting faster than that, you'll need to
either spend the time and energy pulling and digging out perennial
roots or resort to an herbicide to do the initial clearing.
I've not had a great deal of success with Preen, but Chris Lindsey
told me he's used it successfully. Doubt it comes under "organic"
practices tho'...what about corn gluten? Have read that it will
discourage seed germination for certain weeds while feeding the soil.
Understand it is sold in several commercial type formulas that
aren't cheap, but also as feed, which is less expensive, but you have
to guess at the amount to use.
Keeping a good mulch on new plantings will discourage many weed seeds
from germinating - the seedbank is still there in the soil, waiting
for an opportunity. But it helps until new plantings are established
and shade the ground themselves.
All in all, IMO, groundcovers are the best weed suppressants. I
couldn't begin to take care of my gardens if the older parts weren't
totally covered with plants of my choosing....not Mother Nature's.
Marge Talt, zone 7 Maryland
mtalt@clark.net
Editor: Gardening in Shade
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> From: Anne Dimopoulos <along@mpdr0.chicago.il.ameritech.net>
>
> Here's a topic for the experts out there. I've been gardening
> organically for about 7 years now and am very pleased with the
results -
> less insect damage, better growth, better plant recovery after
stress,
> and tons of good insects, butterflies, birds, etc. On our new
place in
> Wisconsin, about 2 acres have been used as pasture, which is
basically a
> weed meadow. What are the pros & cons on using Round-up? I want
to
> clear the weeds and establish a mostly prairie garden - this will
be
> surrounding a small barn that we'll use as a workshop, potting shed
> combination. Also, what are the pros & cons on Preem? Some of my
> gardening friends swear by it - I'm concerned that out in the
country,
> there will be many more weed seeds blowing into the garden than
we've
> had here in the city. We've been able to keep up with about 1400
s.ft.
> of beds by hand weeding, cultivating, and mulching, but triple or
> quadruple that, and we won't be able to keep up. Suggestions from
those
> of you who have a lot of space are welcome.
>
> Anne- Chicago
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