Staying On Top of Weeds in the Summer Garden

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I’ve often joked that the first crop I get from my community garden plot each spring is a bushel of rocks and stones. It’s not a joke, really; the freezing and thawing of early spring coughs up all sorts of debris buried just under the surface—even a spark plug or two! If inert debris is my first harvest then for sure my second harvest (and third and fourth) is weeds. A warm spell in March got the weed seeds and roots primed for growth, and while a mid-April frost cut down many a rose bush, the weeds took it like a champ. Thanks to the favorable weather and to a busy spring travel season on my part, the weeds have gotten out of control in my plot. And my gardening neighbors have noticed.

Why weed anyway? Because they compete with your tomatoes, greens, squashes—your intended crops—for resources such as water, nutrients and sunlight. Weeds harbor insects that could harm your veggies. Worst of all weeds grow much more quickly than vegetable crops, and will eventually overtake your intended plantings. Not to mention they eventually go to seed and spread. Again, your neighbors will notice.

Dedicating several hours each weekend for the last several weekends, I’ve turned the plot from a weedy mess into a nearly pristine garden. And I admit—allowing the weeds time to grow a bit bigger than I usually do actually worked in my favor. If you’ve had a busy spring and are now confronted with a weedy mess—or want to ensure your garden doesn’t become a weedy mess during summer travel—here are a few tips:

1. Let your weeds grow a bit.

Counterintuitive, right? It’s tempting to pull those itty bitty weed seedlings out just when they emerge from the ground. But if you leave them there a bit, let them get, oh, about 5-plus inches tall, you’ll have more leverage when you pull them up, getting more of the roots. Plus, since they are taller, you can grab and yank a handful at a time. And some “weeds” are food sources for pollinators—they longer you keep them around, the better for our pollinator friends!

2. Get them before they flower.

Let them grow somewhat tall, but don’t let them flower and go to seed. That will just make you life more miserable down the road when those seeds germinate and present you with more weeds.

3. Weed the entire garden

(Or even just a portion) and immediately put down a thick layer of mulch. One of the many benefits of mulch is it shades the soil, slowing down growth of whatever is beneath it—including weeds. The weeds that do grow up through a thick layer of mulch are somewhat spindly due to lack of sufficient sunlight and are easy to pull up.

4. Let them bake in the sun.

Once I pull weeds, I toss them in a thin layer on top of that mulch (pictured). In the summer sun those bad boys burn up, withering away into harmless material. Tossing in a compost pile, they may actually have a chance to take root in moist material—so try avoiding that!

5. Keep at it. Be consistent!

The more time spent being thorough in the early part of summer, the more weed-free your garden will be come fall. That layer of mulch works wonders toward that goal, as well.

Meet Ellen Wells

When you’re raised on a farm, you can’t help but know a thing or two about gardening. Ellen Wells is our expert on edible gardening.…

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