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Garden Gate:  Natural Weed Control  |
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Leezard
True Blue Farmgirl
950 Posts
Elizabeth
Novi
MI
USA
950 Posts |
 Posted - Apr 26 2010 : 09:39:41 AM
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Do any of you have any good ways to naturally control weeds in your garden? I'm mostly looking for landscaping fabrics that will cover the ground instead of things to spray on the weeds. The problem I'm having is that even though some say they are natural and environmentally friendly you just don't really know.
Are there any that you know really are environmentally friendly?
Thank you and happy gardening 
www.theaprondiaries.blogspot.com |
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graciegreeneyes
True Blue Farmgirl
3107 Posts
Amy Grace
Rosalia
WA
USA
3107 Posts |
Posted - Apr 26 2010 : 10:28:44 AM
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Elizabeth - I use newspapers with straw on top, newspapers nowadays are generally printed with soy ink, and the newsprint and straw gradually break down to compost. I have had horrible problems with weeds and tried this with great success for the first time last year. Be sure to use clean straw and not hay though, don't want to add seeds into the mix:)
Amy Grace
Farmgirl #224
"use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without"
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edlund33
True Blue Farmgirl
1515 Posts
Marilyn
Renton
WA
USA
1515 Posts |
Posted - Apr 26 2010 : 9:43:57 PM
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Elizabeth:
Amy Grace is right - layers of newspapers or cardboard make a good natural weed barrier mulch. A good layer of weed free compost, bark mulch or arborist's wood chips will work too.
Weed cloth, plastic and landscape fabric are definitely not a good idea - weeds will still grow (profusely....) in the bark or gravel placed on top to cover up the weed cloth. Then you have a real mess when you go to clean out those weeds because their roots get really entwined in the fibers of the fabric underneath. You eventually end up having to spray, or pull up everything and start all over again. Once you have these fabrics in your soil they are really hard get rid of, and they don't break down very quickly at all. Many yard waste collectors won't accept yard debris if it contains fragments of soil cloth. So, the pile of weeds, dirt, and fabric ends up in the regular garbage. Not a very earth friendly solution!
Cheers! ~ Marilyn
Farm Girl No. 1100
Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail. - Ralph Waldo Emerson |
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kristin sherrill
True Blue Farmgirl
11303 Posts
kristin
chickamauga
ga
USA
11303 Posts |
Posted - Apr 27 2010 : 12:40:54 AM
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I have been saving all my feed sacks to use in the rows. I have lots so far. And a stack of newspapers. I have also used 2 year old hay that's been left out. I really like that. Lots of work putting it down though. I have a bad pig weed problem here. I hate that thorny evil weed. And it's all over the place. I am seriously thinking about getting a flame torch and burning them.
Kris
Happiness is simple. |
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sherrye
True Blue Farmgirl
3775 Posts
sherry
bend in the high desert
oregon
USA
3775 Posts |
Posted - Apr 27 2010 : 08:15:34 AM
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i use cardboard boxes that are not waxed. then like kris i use spent straw and weed free dry hay.by next year it is broke down and i can work the soil. i have to mention. i am so analytical. so here goes. straw has a magic power. pure straw barley is one of the better ones.you can put oxygen in a pond with it and kill the algae, you can grow all the natural bacteria existing in the soil in it. where it lays the earth heals itself quickly. just a tid bit on the side. one year i experimented with wool. i was given bags of dirty old wool. i spread it on a garden filled with my compost. then covered it. one year later it was all broke down there was a webbing of microphylia in there. the good bacteria count in that bed was amazing.i do not use newspaper. i think the barrier cloth can have its place. we use it where we need clean space. where we walk. no water no dirt on top. i have it on the floor of my greenhouse where i walk. then i can vac. up the dirt and keep it clean.you can also make your own growing bags out of them. sewing a tube. i double layer. i use grommets.just a few thoughts sherrye
the learn as we go silk purse farm
farmgirl #1014
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Gloria Bonde
True Blue Farmgirl
103 Posts
Gloria
Hot Springs
SD
USA
103 Posts |
Posted - Apr 27 2010 : 7:27:53 PM
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Start a nice compost batch. I use that. Also I use straw. I like straw, not hay, since hay will have weed seeds. The straw I use in my vegetables beds. I found a safe product from Gardens Alive called WOW (WithOut Weeds) it is made from 100% corn gluten. It prevents weeds from sprouting and breaks down into fertilizer for the garden. You want to make sure the product is only 100% corn gluten. I did a blog post on this subject at: http://ahealthygardener.com/2010/03/without-weeds-a-painted-window/
www.ahealthygardener.com |
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maggie14
True Blue Farmgirl
6784 Posts
Hannah
Washington
USA
6784 Posts |
Posted - Apr 27 2010 : 10:42:45 PM
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I've hear that Vinegar mixed with water works well.
Hugs,
Channah
Farmgirl sister #1219
Just a small town country girl trying to live her dreams. :) |
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sherrye
True Blue Farmgirl
3775 Posts
sherry
bend in the high desert
oregon
USA
3775 Posts |
Posted - Apr 28 2010 : 07:36:33 AM
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channah, i buy 35 percent vinegar. i dilute according to my use. for weeds straight in am on dew leaf before sun hits it. on a hot hot day young leaves. it works i love wow and the co. they have a few products i can not use. pyrithrum spelling?? triggers my porphyria in the liver. most stuff i can use. i would add though. for some of the root crops alive etc. they used to have an ing. list. no more. when i first used them i copied the label. most of their stuff is seaweed kelp bone meal feather meal greensand chicken poop and so on. so i use a book by J I Rodales organic gardening encyclopedia.. this is not the current book. it was printed in 1959 on recycled paper in the us.....old book..the man was genious. he figured things out way ahead of his time. in there you can find recipes for fertilizers. made from simple things.it is my second bible. i have used it since i was a hippee. lol every question is answered. then came along RULES the book was no longer published since it had techniques for making things that MIGHT get on your leaf and not be safe. YET we spray pesticides and eat the leaf. go figure. rodale has an identical reprint book available if you call them directly. affordable. i need my third book. i have read the book many times over. i still use it in the garden. the best garden and farm book EVER printed in my opinion. sherrye
the learn as we go silk purse farm
farmgirl #1014
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Leezard
True Blue Farmgirl
950 Posts
Elizabeth
Novi
MI
USA
950 Posts |
Posted - Apr 29 2010 : 05:13:59 AM
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Excellent suggestions! Thank you, all! I think we'll do the newspaper and straw this year and check out the vinegar for next year.
www.theaprondiaries.blogspot.com |
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Garden Gate: Natural Weed Control |
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Natural Weed Control
