The Good Earth: Managing those pesky weeds
Romaine heads in Windmill Field, overshadowing the soil to minimize weeds while retaining soil moisture.
To manage weeds, we need to recognize that they are indicators of soil conditions.
If the soil in your garden is wet and poorly drained or compacted, acidic, alkaline, overworked or fertile, you will have different weeds growing. Get to know the weeds in your garden. You can either find plants that prefer those conditions or make changes for the plants you want to grow.
At Sylvester Manor, we have weeds that grow on the western side of our field where it is shady and water collects there. On the eastern side, there is more sun and water drains away and we get different kinds of weeds.
There are billions of weed seeds in your garden — your “seed bank.” If the weed seeds are below a depth of 2 inches, they won’t germinate; if they don’t receive adequate sun and moisture, they’re less likely to run rampant.
If you pull weeds before they go to seed, you will limit the number of deposits into your seed bank.
To keep those weed seeds in the bottom of your seed bank, and not in that top 2 inches where they’re more likely to germinate, try not to mix soil layers. Use reduced- or no-till practices. Use mulch as a cover or plant crops closer together to shade areas. Compost is one form of mulch that adds some great organic matter to your soil.
You can also use leaves, grass clippings or wood chips, but don’t use mulch full of dyes that will harm the beneficial soil microbes in your garden. Moisture to weeds can be limited by using a watering can, only saturating the base of the plant or by using a drip hose.
You’re going to have to deal with some weeds. They are easiest to manage when they’re at their earliest stage. Work the top 2 inches of your soil with a hoe as soon as weeds sprout. Once they get larger, you’ll have to hoe below that 2 inches, bringing up additional weed seed, or hand pull the weeds.
One of my favorite tools is a collinear hoe. They’re available in different sizes but my favorite is the 3 3/4-inch hoe from Johnny’s Selected Seeds. This smaller hoe requires a few more passes between plants that are widely spaced but it’s also much easier to work between them if they are farther apart. This tool costs $40 and lets you hoe with precision, in a comfortable, upright position, and may last for years. It’s a sound investment.
Weeds are indicators and you don’t have to break your back getting rid of them. There’s no need for “weed killers” that destroy the beneficial microbes in your soil, reducing the crop’s quality and destroying the ecosystem that is your garden.
