major weed dilemma

Our vegetable garden is now overrun with some serious weeds. one creeper that looks like a succulent is everywhere :( I spent 5 hours weeding tonight and it is not done. I am new at vegetable gardens and didn't mulch. Can I do so now and let the mulch kill the weeds? I would appreciate any advice and encouragement lol. Looks like I let the flower gardens take too much of my time this year! I am learning so much to use next year :)

Much better to remove the weeds before mulching, but go ahead and try mulching. If it is thick enough and the weeds small enough it may kill some of them. It will also gradually loosen the soil so the remaining weeds are easier to pull.

I was going to use black bark mulch...is this ok?

I have TONS of grass clippings, however I used the weed & feed on the lawn about 2 months ago.

Any suggestions on what would be better for mulch?

I don't know where to get straw...

I am so overwhelmed this year that these weeds are getting me down :( I am wondering if I should try preen or something like that (a suggestion from here)

My neighbor mentioned apple cider vinegar, dawn & salt...anyone heard of that?

To preen I'd say no. It doesn't know the difference between a good plant and a bad plant. Before I put the mulch down I'd put a layer of card board or several of newspaper.

I would not use any of the items you listed.
Several of them linger in the soil and could affect the seeds you try to grow in the future.

Best option:
Hand pull then thick mulch with whatever material you can find. If it is fine enough, then you can dig it in when you are ready to plant. Leave most of it where it is, just plant right through it, mixing some with the soil as you prepare each hole.
Do not put anything down that will separate the mulch from the soil.
I would not use a colored product. If you use soil conditioner, or very fine chips that is the best. Something that can be worked into the soil for the next crop.

Another way to kill weeds (where there are no good plants now, but you want to plant soon)
Solarize.
Knock down the tallest weeds. (a weed eater works well for this). If some weeds are really aggressive, dig them out.
Water well.
Spread clear plastic over the area.
Secure the sides so there is no wind getting under. You could lay boards down, rocks, bricks... (lots of them) or shovel soil over the edges. It needs to be well sealed.
The heat that builds up under the plastic will kill the wimpy weeds, and discourage seeds from sprouting.
When you pull off the plastic you will probably still have to remove the largest weeds. But they may very well be dead.

The reason I mention cardboard or paper is that where I live I doubt that 6" of mulch would even slow the grasses or bigger weeds down.

I appreciate the advice!

I started this garden this past spring and between the weeks of rain, my grandfather in the hospital & passing then a surprise roadtrip to our southern family... our garden is a weed mess!! I don't mean to put out excuses, however it makes me feel a little better, sigh. Last years garden did not get the better of me like this years has!

My DH threatened to mow it all down so I really want it to look like a garden when he returns next week lol. I have squash growing and cukes, beans, beets, Brussels sprouts, peppers, radishes, carrots & tomatoes.

SO...I am thinking the plastic and/or newspaper should work between the rows and then cover it with bark mulch. I am also going to do the outside of the garden, maybe a 1' border, with plastic & bark mulch.

I am a little concerned for next year, our soil is so good I don't want to mess it up. I am thinking if I use plastic I can easily pull it off along with the bark mulch at the end of this year so that I can redo my rows (I need more space between them. Then maybe I can put the plastic back on and suffocate any weeds before next years planting. Hmmmmm....My mind is muddled by the weeds :) I hope this is a plan that can help & work for next year, too.

Black plastic can also be pretty effective in the method Diana_K recommends--it doesn't let the sunlight through but gets very hot itself, so as long as you've weighed it down with bricks or something so that there's not too much space under there, stuff will die under it in the hot sun of high summer.

This is what I do with areas where the weeds have gotten away from me. (I just now did it with a patch of quackgrass I've been planning to dig out, never got to, and that's close to going to seed...) I usually don't mow/cut anything off but flatten the taller weeds out with my feet before putting the plastic on. The reason for this is that a plant with leaves gets overheated/loses water faster than a plant that's been cut down to just roots, so it will die quicker in the heat under the plastic if I don't cut it off.

If it was me and the weather was hot enough, I would actually put the plastic down, wait till the weeds are dead (might only be a week if it's hot enough) then take it off and mulch after that. The cardboard/newspaper thing can be effective too (generally on slightly shorter weeds) but I personally have not had as much luck with it. The caution with that method is to make sure what you're laying down is nice and thick and overlaps everywhere--the weeds will take advantage of every gap.

Not only does paper need to be several sheets thick it needs something over it to not only keep it from blowing away, but also to keep weeds from lifting it.

Also don't overlook moving weeds where you can do so without move vegetables at the same time.

Remember the weed battle is never really won, it just gets to the tolerable level. Steady and persistent is what wins the battle. Another thing that helps is to start to learn to identify particular weeds. Annuals that repopulate by seeds can be greatly reduced by catching them before they go to seed. Some perennials are best cut off and covered.

>> Also don't overlook moving weeds where you can do so without move vegetables at the same time.

Mowing? I would agree - sometimes when I get far behind, just chopping them down with a mower is better than letting them go to seed, and keep all their foliage to power the growth of roots and seeds.

if you only have time to oush a scuffle hoe back and forth, do that to set them back a little.

Pull them out by the roots when you have time.

After the crops are harvested or you give up on them, you can get ALL the weed roots by digging out the top layer of soil and passing it through a screen before returning it to the bed. Remove weed roots, stones. and big chunks of mulch like bark.

But even that won't keep you from having more weeds next year.

The closest thing I know of to 'weed free" is a thick layer of coarse mulch laid down as soon as possible after planting, PLUS pulling each weed that comes through the mulch, BEFORE its root geets too long to be pulled

Maybe black plastic or cardboard can do the same thing, but it is kind of ugly. I guess enough water and air can get through either one, since they do seem to work for people.