Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
Hoeing is a great way to keep the weeds in check. Get into the
habit of hoeing your garden beds even if there are no weeds; this
will prevent any seeds that may be in the soil from germinating.
Scrape the hoe over the top inch of the soil. It is easier to hoe when
the soil is moist, so do your hoeing after watering your garden or
after a rainfall. By scraping the top of the soil, you will slice off the
tops of the weeds, preventing the weed from going to seed. Depend-
ing on the type of weed, it may grow again or the roots may decom-
pose. Keeping your hoe blade sharp will make this job easier to
accomplish.
Mulch: Does It Work?
After hoeing or weeding your garden bed, add mulch to the area.
Weed seeds need light to germinate and grow, so the main function
of mulch in weed control is to prevent light from reaching the seeds.
Cover the area completely with up to four inches of mulch, leaving a
few inches around the base of the plant stem clear. You'll often have
mulch materials handy from your own garden. Two common materi-
als are leaves and grass. Raking leaves and then running the lawn
mower over them to shred them makes great mulch. Collecting your
grass clippings in a mower bag is another mulch that costs no money
and is easy to get. Just make sure you do not use pesticides on your
lawn; you do not want to contaminate your vegetable patch.
You can also make organic mulch out of newspaper, cardboard,
straw, hay, bark mulch, compost, and animal manure. Nonorganic
mulch materials include crushed rock, black plastic, and landscape
fabric. These usually need to be purchased and can be expensive.
Choosing the type of mulch you want to use can depend on what is
readily available or how much you care about your garden's appear-
