A couple of years ago, I noted that when it came to gardening, I excelled at growing weeds. I am pleased to report that I now excel at growing fewer weeds. Daily (or nearly daily) hoeing and weeding is the primary reason for the improvement, but plant spacing has also played a significant role.
That aside, I have covered the spaces between my vegetables with garden felt, which, as the name implies, is a cloth material rolled out over the soil. The felt is water and air permeable but blocks a good deal of sunlight, thus hindering weed growth. It’s far from a perfect solution – weeds still manage to push through here and there – but the felt has easily cut the weed growth in my garden by two-thirds.
Last year I used straw and mulch for the same reason. Both inhibited weed growth to a certain degree, but after a few weeks, the weeds powered through the layers and took over. They are now attempting to break through the felt and have succeeded in some spots. Thankfully, the black felt surface makes the weeds far more conspicuous; however, the material prevents hoeing and makes the weeds much harder to pluck.
Next season, I think I’ll forgo the felt and increase the hoeing. With any luck, the felt will reduce the seed count in the soil this year and make weed management even more efficient next spring and summer. We’ll see.
I planted cucumbers for the first time this year and am experiencing great success with them. The same goes for red-leaf lettuce. The zucchini, cantaloupe, tomatoes, and snap peas are all coming along nicely. My onions are already hand grenade-size. The rows of corn look promising.
On the downside, my pepper plants have fallen into a coma. At first, I thought the problem was soil-related; however, my neighbors are experiencing the same trouble with their pepper plants, which leads me to believe that the problem might be weather-temperature-related instead (it was cooler than usual in the late spring, particularly at night).
Peppers aside, it looks like it will be another good year.
That aside, I have covered the spaces between my vegetables with garden felt, which, as the name implies, is a cloth material rolled out over the soil. The felt is water and air permeable but blocks a good deal of sunlight, thus hindering weed growth. It’s far from a perfect solution – weeds still manage to push through here and there – but the felt has easily cut the weed growth in my garden by two-thirds.
Last year I used straw and mulch for the same reason. Both inhibited weed growth to a certain degree, but after a few weeks, the weeds powered through the layers and took over. They are now attempting to break through the felt and have succeeded in some spots. Thankfully, the black felt surface makes the weeds far more conspicuous; however, the material prevents hoeing and makes the weeds much harder to pluck.
Next season, I think I’ll forgo the felt and increase the hoeing. With any luck, the felt will reduce the seed count in the soil this year and make weed management even more efficient next spring and summer. We’ll see.
I planted cucumbers for the first time this year and am experiencing great success with them. The same goes for red-leaf lettuce. The zucchini, cantaloupe, tomatoes, and snap peas are all coming along nicely. My onions are already hand grenade-size. The rows of corn look promising.
On the downside, my pepper plants have fallen into a coma. At first, I thought the problem was soil-related; however, my neighbors are experiencing the same trouble with their pepper plants, which leads me to believe that the problem might be weather-temperature-related instead (it was cooler than usual in the late spring, particularly at night).
Peppers aside, it looks like it will be another good year.
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