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 Practice Organic Weed Control
Provided by the Capital District Community Gardens
Weeds are simply plants growing in places you don't want them to -- plants that you consider undesirable, but insist on growing in your garden anyway.
Weed seeds exist in the soil of all gardens and can be spread by wind, water, animals and even by the soil amendments we use to help our gardens grow. Here are some ideas to consider for organic weed control:
• Prevention is the best medicine. In the fight against weeds, the most important element is to provide the best conditions possible for the growth of desirable plants. Improper watering, soil compaction, insect damage and disease all contribute to weed development. All of these conditions can be easily avoided by proper mulching.
• After fostering a nurturing environment, the second step is to remove any existing offenders by hand weeding.
• Without harming your crops, you can turn the weeds into the soil with a weeding hoe or any version of this time-tested tool.
• Use barriers. Lay plastic down around plants to block weeds. It works well with warm weather-loving crops such as melons, pumpkins, eggplants and tomatoes.
• An excellent alternative to plastic is ordinary newspaper. It is organic, it can be turned into the soil the following Spring and is a lot cheaper than rolls of black plastic. Use a layer about 1⁄4- inch thick and wet it down as soon as you lay it to stop it from blowing away. Then cover the newspaper with a layer of straw.
• Live mulches are gaining a lot of respect in the garden. The idea is simple; using a fast growing and short plant to cover the surface of the soil around the garden plants. Thyme is a perfect choice for this method.
• Another use of living mulch is the cover crop. If you plant rye in the fall, it will protect the soil from erosion all winter, add lots of good organic material to your soil when turned over in the spring, and won't allow weeds a chance to get established in your plot.
• Corn gluten meal can be applied as a pre-emergent weed killer. It has been shown to inhibit the growth of dandelions, crabgrass and many other annual weeds.
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