Tending the gardens

[Russ]

My favorite thing to do is to go out and "tend to the garden" It relaxes me, takes my mind off things, but most important it keeps the weeds down.

Everytime I go out to the garden, I have my hoe in hand and chop or hoe the weeds or hoe plants to give them some water/air. I find if you keep up with it and NOT let it get out of hand, it is not much of a job.

So, lets see your best tips for keeping your gardens weed free or whatever to keep them looking good and growing their best.

[Darlene]

Um can I have you come over to my house to do some of that "relaxing"?
I know it's true that keeping up with it makes it much more pleasant I just think mine explode overnight and just never seem to stop. Your garden from one of your pics looks like it was really well tended. Beautiful thing for sure.

[Ali Lee]

I worked 3hr+ this morning in my flowers. The best advice to give is mulch. I spread down a thick layer of newspaper & mulch on top. And Yep, about the hoe..now keep that on my porch for easy grabbing. With all that being said,,, I came in the house took 800mg Ibuprofen, ice pak the knee, cold drink, and sat in my rocker for about an hour. Great-getting older.!!!

[baxjul]

My best tip is to let my dh do it. He likes to garden, and I don't.

[Natalie's Nesters]

I agree with putting down newspaper, but I use my grass clippings. i do not treat my grass with chemicals. The paper keeps the weeds from growing, I till it the following spring and start all over. On the walkways, I use cardboard with old hay. Be sure to water well after doing this so the wind does not whip the paper/cardboard around. Weeds drive me nuts. I also find the tending very relaxing. Good luck to everyone this year with their gardens.

[frugalwarrior2]

Water a little before you weed. Put on gloves. Weeds should pull out easier and not leave roots behind as often. Less future weeds. Do not put grass clipping in as they contain weed seeds.
Garbage bags w/ rocks on them between the rows will smother weeds.

[frugalfranny]

It is not my favorite thing to do BUT a job that has to be done so I try to spend lots of time right after a rain in the already established areas.

In new areas, I use newspaper and grass clippings. (no weeds in my grass clippings) Plain black and white paper only......no colored paper......and no ads.

I agree.......if you stay on top of it it is much easier.

[ladytoysdream]

I let the hubby do a lot of it.

If the rows are far enough apart, he will take the rototiller down between them.

I picked up a bunch of FREE burlap bags yesterday when I was at the farm store. Plan is to cut them on the seams, and hopefully use them between the rows. Hopefully it will work.

[MomToTwoBoys]

I got the best tip of all:

Dig out a hole deep enough to allow for root growth and moisture promotion, then stick in some fabric to keep the weeds from growing up into the garden. Add in as much dirt as you need and then BAM! No weeds.

For me, though, I usually dig out the spot and then pick through the clumps of grass and roots. I only put the dirt back in that doesn't have any chance of growing anything other than the plants. If I do have any weeds, I'll hand-pick the ones that don't prick me and use a small spade to dig out the other ones (roots and all).

[ladykemma2]

for those with st augustine grass, cut an english style spade cut edge to keep the grass from getting into the beds.

[Trentt]

I mulch, I hand-weed, and at this time of year when there are millions of tiny weedlings out there, I just take a trowel or a claw and run it through the top crust of dirt. This unearths the vulnerable baby weeds and kills most of them.

Also, my psychological trick is to avoid looking over the entire garden, which can be discouraging if you see a lot of weeds to pull. I take it in small doses, concentrate on a small area, and once I get going I find myself doing a little more than I had planned. If I go outside 4 or 5 times on a free day, I can get a LOT done this way without thinking I must get it all done at once.