# Dealing with the weeds and grass after converting the yard to garden



## justletmein (Feb 11, 2006)

I never knew this forum was here.  

Few years ago I turned a big portion of my backyard grass into a garden, but I'm always getting overrun by weeds and grasses. Every year we rent a tiller and my oldest son goes to town on it, soil looks great and grows everything very well but the weeds frustrate me to the point of giving it up. I've put down the black plastic mats and they grow through it and I've spent hours daily pulling weeds through the growing season but they just come back because most of the grasses and weeds that I have I can't get the roots up when pulled. I tried Round Up and it doesn't seem to phase the grasses that grow in there, but it'll kill some weeds or stunt the growth of them. Behind my house is a drainage ditch full of weeds and open fields behind that also full of weeds so it seems I get a lot of that spreading into my garden (and yard). I had a great garden last year, but I just couldn't keep up with the weed pulling 2 hours a day every day after work and it ended up overrun. I planned to skip it this year so haven't done anything but figured I'd see if I could find some wisdom since I just found this forum.


----------



## w_r_ranch (Jan 14, 2005)

We always put down a 3" layer of mulch right after we put the plants in. It is a pain & an added expense, however it does greatly cut down the time spent weeding.

The other benefits include moisture retention, lowering the soil temp & it breaks down nicely (increasing the soil's organic content).

:cheers:


----------



## Mikeyhunts (Jun 4, 2007)

What is the best kind of Mulch to use? The guy at home depot told me Cedar Mulch because of the insect repellent tendencies, but then after some research it appears that Cedar might not be best because of it taking longer to break down.
Opinions are appreciated.


----------



## w_r_ranch (Jan 14, 2005)

We use shredded pine bark mulch.


----------



## Meadowlark (Jul 19, 2008)

Mulch is great not only for weeds but also for building your soil quality. 

I've had gardens for a lot of years and honestly, the best thing I've found is just persistence in getting after the weeds. Cultivate often and never let the weeds go to seed and you should see improvement every year...but it only takes one year of no attention to loose the progress. A good garden tiller can really help...and in fact to me is mandatory for weed control. Hand weeding is no fun at all and not nearly as effective as tilling the soil. With the right tiller you can, if not eliminate, considerably reduce the need for hand weeding and make gardening a much more enjoyable experience.


----------



## justletmein (Feb 11, 2006)

Thx, the mulch is one thing I've not tried. I'm already too late this year as I've given up already, however I do have a couple pepper plants that I dug up and potted last year as an experiment that I need to put back in the ground so I'll make a small spot for them and mulch it and see how it goes. 

Meadowlark, we till the heck out of it every year but can't till once it's planted. It seems like the weeds and grasses just never stop growing in there.


----------



## Meadowlark (Jul 19, 2008)

Justletmein, 

Why can't you till once its planted? That's the time to really get after it. By matching your row spacing to your tiller swath, you can get right up next to the plants...and also can throw dirt on those plants that need it...for example corn seedlings really benefit from having some dirt thrown up around them as they grow and that also reduces weeds.

As much as I love gardening, honestly I wouldn't do it without a good tiller to do most all the cultivating.


----------



## Meadowlark (Jul 19, 2008)

Maybe a picture will help show what I'm trying to say. This garden spot was once part of cow pasture and thick with bermuda grasses. 

You can see the onion rows(raining today) and then to the right the green beans coming up and then potatoes and then far right corn. I just run my tiller right down those rows and very little hand weeding and doesn't take much time as long as I keep it tilled up.


----------



## rvj (May 14, 2006)

Space your rows so that you can till down each row. I also mulch my garden with regular tree bark mulch, I also collect trash bags of leaves and use them as a mulch which is also good for you soil. But if you use tree leaves you will also bring in some insect eggs, etc. At the end of the veggie season just till in all the mulch and leaves, and the cycle starts again for the fall garden... Good luck...


----------



## justletmein (Feb 11, 2006)

Well primarily because I've been renting a tiller, so $100 a pop kind of breaks the bank. Honestly though I figured it would do too much damage to the roots of the plants nearby. Last year I had a lot of Squash, Eggplant, Peppers, Onions, and Carrots, and Beans (bush and pole, none did well) along with random other things spread around within. I figured the Squash would drown out the weeds but the weeds would grow right up through them, though the grasses didn't bother the Squash much it seemed so I just left them.


----------



## bowmansdad (Nov 29, 2011)

I cover my beds with 3 or 4 sheets of newspaper and cover that with cotton seed compost. I either plant through the paper or add it after I plant. This has worked well for me keeping weeds down and as a added bonus after you pull your crops up,fill in with paper and compost and your beds are ready for winter. This spring, I pulled the small amount of weeds and tilled everything up. These beds have my tomatoes twice as tall and many more blooms vs. uncomposted beds.


----------



## Meadowlark (Jul 19, 2008)

justletmein said:


> Well primarily because I've been renting a tiller, so $100 a pop kind of breaks the bank. Honestly though I figured it would do too much damage to the roots of the plants nearby. ...


Ouch, yes, $100 a pop would put a big damper on that approach.

Kind of depends somewhat on garden size...in a garden like mine, mulching could be time consuming and expensive. If the mulch isn't composted first, it can also remove nutrients from the soil as it decays...plus I really like having loose soil around the plants to promote growth, water utilization, and production.

Cultivating is different from garden preparation. In cultivating, I set the tiller for shallow depths and run the tiller just outside the drip lines of the plants. As the plants grow, they tend to shade out any competing weeds. When the plants reach full growth, I normally don't cultivate much, if any and then after harvest I run a mulching mower over the rows and till the plant mulch back into the soils. Ready to go another cycle. With this approach, I've found a larger garden to actually be less work than a smaller garden which isn't set up for tiller use.

Works for me.


----------



## WilliamH (May 21, 2004)

I like to use pine needles / straw because I can get it for FREE!!


----------



## Pocketfisherman (May 30, 2005)

Sheets of newspaper layed down between the rows and then wet, or you can put mulch on top pf the paper too. Use the BW sections, not colored as the BW ink is non-toxic soy based now.


----------



## Bowhntr (Aug 7, 2006)

I have a handy tiller attachment for my troy weeder, just the right size for my raised garden and won't break bank (provider you already have the weedeater that allows different attachment) HD/Lowes carries them. Mine has trimmer, tiller, saw and hedge trimmer attachments. Just my POV


----------



## B-1 83 (Sep 22, 2009)

Ask the Agronomist(TM) says .....

1. Quit tilling the whole garden. You arent planting but a tiny strip for many crops, or digging a whole and transplanting many others. Tilling promotes annual weeds.
2. Mulch ...MULCH ...... *MULCH*!!!!! You know all those wonderful leaves your neighbors so kindly rake up and bag for you? Use them. When it comes to grass clippings, make sure they are not "weed and feed" users.
3. Unless you are a hard core organic person, make Roundup your friend. You can even make a "hooded sprayer" by attaching a plastic milk jug to the spray wand of a pump-up sprayer. This will keep the chemical off of your plants. Organic folks can use vinegar and orange oil sprays the same way.
4. Did I mention mulching?


----------

