Help! I have a huge weed patch instead of a garden.

Hello all!

This summer I meant to have a wonderful vegetable garden. I ordered lots of plants, cleared a large area of sod, and got started. Then, we welcomed our first child into the world. We are so very excited to have our healthy baby boy! However, the garden suffered serious neglect and now I have a VERY impressive weed patch. Does anyone have any ideas on what I can do to atone for my mistakes for next year? How should I get rid of the weeds? I would prefer not to use Round-up or harsh chemicals. I have several friendly toads in my yard and pond and I don't want to kill them. I seem to recall reading something about layering newspapers to kill the weed seeds, but I can't find the info. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Elbow grease. Then heavy mulch such as newspaper or "flakes" of straw or horse hay.

Congratulations on the new family member - it's a wonderful time

Frank

(edited for typo)

This message was edited Sep 22, 2008 11:11 AM

Congrats on the kid! By the time he's old enough to eat solid food, you'll have fresh veggies from the garden to feed him, and he'll grow up knowing where food comes from.

From what I understand, along the lines of what tarheel is saying, clear all of the weeds out and dispose of them, and then apply a thick layer of compost that you leave on the area for the winter. The compost keeps the weeds from sprouting back up, and I think it even kills some of the weed seeds. And then it makes the soil better when you till it in in the spring.

You can use thick layers of newspapers - no colored ink - or even buy special plastic sheets to put over top of the garden to kill the weeds. I'm sure that a lot of people around here have had success with it, but if you have a choice, the compost method makes more sense to me because you're actually improving your soil while you're dealing with the weed problem. And personally, I'm in favor of cutting our use of disposable plastics, so I vote no on that one as well, if you want my opinion.

There's also a concept called lasagna gardening that takes this a bit further. It's supposed to be less work, but it sounds like a whole lot of work to me. But it might be something you'll want to research further if it would save you time in the garden while you're managing having a young child.

There's tons of information on this site, so if you want to do a search of any of these topics, you'll find more information. I'm a first-year gardener myself and wouldn't have gotten through it without advice and information from the good people here. I recommend getting a membership, if you don't already have one, to access all of the forums and articles.

Happy gardening!

Dani, our weather will kill most of the weeds in a few weeks, unfortunately it does not kill the seeds. Hoping this warm spell will last but not holding my breath. I would not spend your precious time pulling up the weeds already there, Babies come first and they are not little for very long, so spentding your time cuddling them is good for both of you.

I found putting newspapers down late in the year did not break them down by Spring. The ground was too cold and the snow just made them wet and then they dried before the ground warmed up again, they also kept the soil from heating up. I covered my whole garden with leaves, which this area has no shortage of, and when ready to plant I just cleared a row as I needed it. This has kept 90% of the weeds from growing, and the stubborn ones that poke through are easily pulled. Usually I shred the leaves but guess I got lazy this year and just piled the leaves on whole. The leaves will be tilled under once all the plants are done and a new layer added to the top.

I live about seven miles from you, or at least your town, so I am familiar with the weather in the area.

Thank-you so much for the advice! I agree that lasagna gardening does look like a ton of work, so I am going to try the leaves like Surreybrit recommended. Happy growing everyone!