The lazy garden

[toddler]

Well, my wife just finished another 125hr week as a pregnant med student on surgery. My 15month old daughter's wonderful and time consuming. Work is busy. And my garden's shrunk.

Two years ago we used a quarter acre, and got loads of veggies. Last year we used a quarter acre, didn't weed once, and got nothing. This year I tilled 1/8 acre, put down two 20' rows and a 12-14'square of weedblock. Tacked it all down with drilled 6x2x4" blocks and landscaping spikes, and planted a few of my favorites in 3" holes in the weedblock. The neighbors are going to use the rest of the area. I turned over the other 1/8 acre a month ago and tacked down a 30x50' blue tarp in the middle. Planted annual ryegrass around it, and figure next year I'll have a 30x50' garden with almost no perenial weeds. Anyone else have a method of lazy (read that as I don't want to weed) gardening?
Todd

 

[DrDan]

Don't have any answers about your garden but sure can emphasize (sp?) regarding your wifes 125 hour weeks. After Veterinary School I had nightmares for years. Would wake up "knowing" I was late for a test or flunking or passed out at school. During final week we used to get only 6 or 8 hours of sleep the whole week. At the end of it all we always had enough energy to go out and drink beer. It's all about teaching you humility and endurance.

Good luck to her and you,
Dr Dan

 

[jdkid]

Hi ya
we have done it here with old newspapers work and wet the ground then plant ya plants covering bear ground with old papers and straw works ok with plants above ground i don't think it would work with root crops tho ,well it might thinking about it you would still have some weeding but not as much and also it is a good mulch other good thing is at the end of the year ya can run a power tiller over it mixing rotten paper leaves etc etc back into the ground as compost
there is some stuff in NZ called weedblock it's like shade cloth it alowes rain to pass through and also lets the ground breath (sp?)try the paper idea in a small block and see if it works for ya
catch ya
JD Kid

 

[RichZ]

Todd, when I lived in the suburbs, I used to mulch the whole garden with grass clippings. Never had to weed, and the the clippings helped condition the soil and even added nitrogen. When I moved, the garden had nice black rich soil. Now that we're in the country. with a much larger garden, I may try to rake up some clippings and mulch with them. It's a lot of work, but it seems easier than weeding.
Rich

 

[toddler]

Grass clippings is an interesting idea. Especially since this half of the garden will probably get seeded to grass next year. I'll try that between the rows first. I'm not too sure about newspaper, because I'd be worried about the plants taking up any ink that leaches out, and then eating it. Maybe a roll of cheap brown paper?
Todd

 

[StoneHeartFarm]

Todd,

I think I remember reading somewhere about turning the ground and then covering it with BLACK plastic, and leave it lie until the next year. Apparently the black plastic absorbs sunlight and really heats up the ground, killing weeds, seeds and bacteria.

Haven't tried it, but always wanted to.

SHF

 

[Wil]

Check with your local news paper, but most have gone to a soy based ink that is biodegradable(sp?) and should cause no problems.

Wil

 

[Boondox]

Done that. It works well. We also use tightly woven burlap under our raised beds; they aren't a complete barrier, but seem to reduce the weed invasion for a couple of years and then sort of disintegrate.

Toddler (or any other VT locals): If you want all the free burlap you can handle, drop me a line. Here at Green Mtn Coffee we give away the empty coffee bags as part of our recycling efforts...also 55 gallon plastic barrels. Business is good, so the supply is unlimited.

Pete

www.GatewayToVermont.com

 

[toddler]

Thought about black plastic, but the monster tarp was in the garage and had the metal eyelets for the landscaping spikes. $free99!
Todd

 

[Anonymous Poster]

just for test