Mowing (?) the garden!!?!
Weeding
I've only planted a small portion of the garden, and the weeds elsewhere are growing like wildfire. So I needed to weed them, and I figured I should do so before they go to seed and produce even more weeds.
Hoe down
I have been weeding with the hoe for the past couple days, but only the edges of the shade cloth where I've planted plants -- I left the rest to do later, when I put down additional shade cloth. However, I didn't want to wait until tomorrow when we're slated to get some more seedlings, and although I got the hoe out, it seemed like a lot of work.
Then I realized that the path between the two shade cloths I've already put down is wider than the mower. So, I put the hoe down.
Mower up
Had to gas up the mower, which then did short work of the weeds. Although, it didn't remove the roots -- so, as they continue to grow, they'll be "hardier" my wife says, but that's okay because if I keep doing this every couple days until we've planted (which should only be a couple times), then I'll be sure to get rid of any developing seeds.
Picture
The garden is 50' x 60', with the gate at the front, towards the right side. This picture was taken from the front right side, so you can see the entire fence.
You'll also notice that I managed to mow some of the left-most shade cloth, towards the back end of the garden. I might replace it.
Damage?
I noticed as I was mowing that it was throwing pieces of the weeds at the tomatoes, peppers, and other plants we want to keep. While I think exposure to wind is a good idea to keep the stems growing thicker and more resistant to the elements, I don't think the mower's rapidly-ejected materials would be good for them. So, between that and the weeds potentially coming back stronger, I am considering rethinking this approach.
Your thoughts and experiences are welcomed, thanks! :)
Either till or mulch the whole area. Then there's weed killer which I wouldn't suggest
Thanks! We recovered this from 20-25 years of neglect last summer/fall -- there was a 40' tree growing in the middle, and several other trees! Cut them down, then used a brush mower to take down the prickers et al, then tilled it before the winter. Then we tilled it this spring, before putting in the fence and planting.
I don't think I'll rent a tiller again before the end of the season -- but we do have a huge branch pile from the tree work, which we intend to rent a chipper for. I'll put the wood chips down between the shade cloth paths, to keep down on growth there.
I put down a third row of shade cloth today; this one 3' wide (the first two were 2' wide, which isn't enough for more than one plant). With the 3' one, I think I'll easily be able to get two plants, and possibly three, side-by-side, and access them from either side walkway (I think probably 2 would be best; with 3, whichever side you're on, you'd be reaching across one plant to get to the middle one).
We bought another 15 or so plants yesterday and will be digging them into the soil either later today or tomorrow.
I agree about the weed killer, I don't want to use any poisons -- we're going to eat this stuff! :)
3 plants wide is not the best unless you can safely navigate to the middle. I've found 2 plants wide to be best for that reason and I worked in a 1 plant wide bed greenhouse that lost so much potential with space as opposed to 2 wide. I just made a bed with store bought mulch and just threw it down all the grass died within a week or 2 underneath and the weeds that come up have weak roots so they're easy to pull. As long as all those weeds are around you want to pay extra attention to pest mitigation.
Thanks, makes sense! Discussed with the wife yesterday, and plan to put the fourth row of shade cloth down over the weeds, and see what if any difference there is. A work-out is a good thing, but so is efficiency! :)
Might need more than the shade cloth to kill the weeds. I used a good amount of mulch.
Yeah, we have a branch pile that we intend to rent a chipper for, then put the wood chips down on the paths.
Oh, guess I forgot to mention: the third row of shade cloth that I put down, I hoed the space it was going over, removing all the weeds. That took a half hour or so and I was sweating profusely by the end of it. So, if I can achieve the same results with just putting the shade cloth down and not hoeing, then I can get exercise in another manner. :)