Are there any ways to keep weeds out of garden?

Question

My garden is being overtaken by weeds this year. I am getting them out by the root, but they grow right back. Is there anything that can be done to prevent them?

Answer 1

You are doing the right thing by pulling them out. You can also get some round up and take a very small paint brush and paint the round up on the weed. This will kill only the weed and not the surrounding flowers. It takes time but it is worth it later.

Answer 2

Mulch is the best prevention. One way to have a great garden with minimal weeding and no chemicals is the "lasagna method." To do this, you put newspaper down over your grass (or your old garden) in the fall. Then pile on layers of compost, peat moss, kitchen scraps, peat moss, top soil, peat moss, etc. When it comes time to plant, you don't need to plow or rototill. Just push the seeds in. Plant thickly, and weeds will be very few. If you do so see any weeds, they will be easy to pull.

Answer 3

Avoid using Roundup. It is somewhat persistent & bad news if it gets into any stream, pond, watertable etc. Roundup or any herbicide should be your weapon of last resort.

I know this is hindsight but I agree with several other posters who suggested putting down garden cloth BEFORE you start your garden. Using the garden cloth & mulch will prevent almost all of your weeds. The few you get will be easy to pull up.

This year you are pretty much stuck with pulling the weeds & mulching.
If you are a pyro you might want to try: http://www.flameengineering.com/Red_Dragon_Propane_Torch_K.html

...looks like fun, never tried it however.

Good luck.

Answer 4

well this can be a hasle doing, but you can take a black tarp (you should do this before planting but you can do it when the plants are little, or just take more time if there pretty big) cut holes in the tarp where your going the plant and that way only your plants get the sun and water they need and the weeds wont get the sun and they will die. I'm not sure how good it will work but it has worked for other people... Hope that helps you if not, sorry to bother you.

Answer 5

There is also a product called Preen. This does not kill weeds, but it does prevent them. You have to pull all the weeds and then sprinkle this stuff around your plants. There's a list of plants it's safe for on the product. It works great.

http://www.preen.com/newpreen/index.jsp

Answer 6

you have alot of choices... the one i recommend the most is doing this:

Go to a local home improvement store(home depot, lowes, ect.) and get Weed Fabric.

lay this down where you dont want weeds... after that just top it off with some mulch. any mulch will do. i recommend Eucalyptus(sp?) if you want wood but dont want it floating away. If youve got the money, definatly go with rubber mulch. It will hold its color longer and will not float away. if not mulch, you could try small rocks/pebbles.

you might even try spraying the whole ground with roundup before puting this down... it will kill anything near the top of the soil. just make sure you dont hit any plants that you want to live.

Answer 7

More plants. Weeds can't grow w/o direct sun. So plant more veggie plants, closer together.

If it's not a windy day, use Round-Up tokill them on the spot.

Oh, and mulch. Spread black visqueen, or pine straw, or cedar chips, or whatever they use in your area for mulch. This blocks the sunlight and weeds wont grow. Chokes them out.

Answer 8

Don't have a garden! Just Kidding, get some weed cloth from a home improvement store and lay it down before you plant. cut hole just big enough for you're starter and/or seeds.

Answer 9

You can apply Preen which will help prevent weeds and than apply the black cloth.

Answer 10

lay down sheets of newspaper . Its very low cost and works ok