Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
Other Ways to Control Weeds
One great way to prevent weeds is not to bring them into your
garden. Keep any tools you work with clean. Remove any weeds that
have gone to seed from your garden. When shopping for plants,
make sure there are not any weeds in the containers. When you
bring in hay or straw to your garden, make sure it is from a weed-
free source. If it is not weed-free, you may soon find hay growing in
your garden beds! Animal manures can have lots of weed seeds in
them, so make sure you know what kind of bedding was used and
what the animals were fed. All of these small things can make it
easier to keep your garden free of weeds, or at least ensure you are
not introducing new weeds to the area.
Growing a cover crop can smother weeds. By growing a cover crop
you can enrich your soil as well as control weeds. Cultivate or dig the
area and then sow the green manure crop thickly. Turn the green
manure over before the weeds you are trying to control have a
chance to set seed. To be most effective, you will need to grow and
turn two or three cover crops in succession. By growing vegetables
close together, you can reduce the number of weeds by shading any
area from the sun. Grow your lettuces close together so they overlap
each other or grow your squash under your corn to prevent weeds
from getting any light.
Smoothie Garden Solution
Clean your gardening tools after using them. Weed seeds and dis-
eases can be easily carried from one area to another attached to
your hoe, spade, or even your shoes. Make sure you give all your
tools a good rinse whenever you are finished working with them
for the day to prevent infecting other areas.
