"A man of words and not of deeds, is like a garden full of weeds." - Mother Goose rhyme.
Weeds cause more garden failures than any other single pest. Insects and diseases damage various species of plants in the garden, but weeds interfere with the growth of all desirable plants.Nothing reduces the overall production of the garden more than weeds. Weeds are defined as plants out of place. A plant can be desirable in one location, but when it becomes aggressive and invades the garden, it becomes a weed. Plants become weeds because they produce tremendous numbers of seeds that remain viable for many years. Keep weeds from taking over the garden by preventing them from forming seed. Gardeners often blame wind, water, birds and other seed dispersal methods for spreading weeds, but we are our own worst enemy. We allow weeds to form seeds, creating even more weeds.
Prevent weeds by using mulches, either organic and inorganic. Organic mulches are preferred if soil improvement is important. Incorporate them at the end of the growing season to increase water and oxygen and nutrient content of the soil. Organic mulches cool the soil and work well for cool-season vegetables because they lower soil temperatures. Many flowers produce better blossoms with cooler soils.
Grass clippings, if you are still picking them up, work well as a soil mulch. If you grasscycle or don't have enough from your lawn, collect them from neighbors or commercial lawn care companies. They pay to dump clippings and are eager to share them.
Apply clippings in half-inch layers and allow them to dry between applications. A 1-inch layer of dry grass prevents most annual weeds from germinating. Sawdust is also a great mulch. Use it on leafy vegetables because the grass is more difficult to remove from these. On flower beds where appearance is important, use decomposed bark as mulch. All of these help control weeds and improve the soil when tilled in.
Inorganic mulches include plastic mulches and the landscaping fabrics. Black plastic provides excellent weed control and works well on warm-season crops. It eliminates most weeds, conserves water and reduces soil compaction. Clear plastic warms the soil and is used to accelerate plant growth. Temperatures under clear plastic generally get high enough to burn off annual weeds, but perennial weeds may flourish.
Weed mats or landscape fabrics are more expensive than plastic but last for years. Use them around perennial plants including shrubs. They are porous so moisture and oxygen move down through them, but weeds can't grow through them. The black color is easily camouflaged by wood chips or shredded bark.
Tilling is the most common way to remove weeds but is probably not the best. All soil is full of weed seeds, and tilling allows a fresh crop of weed seeds to germinate. I spent a good deal of time in my younger life on the end of a common garden hoe. I feel qualified to say they are not the best weed removal tool as they were originally designed to chop cotton, not remove weeds. Sharp, gliding hoes are my preferred choice of cultivation tools. These are available in a number of different sizes and styles including Glide-n-Groom and Winged Weeder. Plants, like purslane, grow even after roots are severed. Remove these and weeds that have produced seed from the garden.
Watering affects weed control. Irrigation water can introduce weeds into the garden, while sprinkler irrigation soaks everything and weeds grow in all moist soils. Drip irrigation is a great way to save water and in my opinion would be valuable if it did nothing else but reduce weed growth.
Finally, help Mother Nature cover the soil with desirable plant materials. Bare ground never remains bare for long. If you don't cover it with good plants, weeds will grow. Plant vegetables and flowers close together to help them cover the soil. Competition from desirable plants is one of the best methods for keeping weeds from growing. Chemical controls are not needed for most annual weeds. Reserve them for deep rooted, difficult to control perennial weeds.
There are hundreds of methods for controlling weeds, but none of them works unless you do! Start early and be aggressive. Make your goal to eliminate weeds from your garden by not allowing them to go to seed. Remove young seedlings when they emerge from the soil. Use mulches, close row planting, and good irrigation techniques to assist you in this endeavor. The war against weeds may never be won, but you can win the battle in your garden.
- 1992 Utah Rose Show, sponsored by the Utah Rose Society will be held Saturday, June 13, at the Garden Club Center Building in Sugarhouse Park, 1602 E. 2100 South. The schedule is:
Entries received, 7-9:30 a.m.; entries judged, 9:30 a.m.-1 p.m., and show open to the public, 1-5 p.m.
Ribbons and awards will be given to the best roses. For further information, call Pete Tyson at 250-3741.