weed free gardening & dogs

[HOSS]

I hate weeds. This year I decided to do something different and try to go weed free. Since my garden is smallish in size I bought a big roll of that landscaping material that allows water through but not weeds. I covered the garden with it completely and then cut x's in it to plant my vegetables. My plan is to cover it with mulch. My dogs have been getting in it and chewing on the fabric so last night I fixed their little red wagon. I put two strands of poly wire around it and hooked it up to my zebra charger. Sometime last night after dark I heard a loud yelp. I went out this morning and the fabric was just as I left it.......I bet their old noses are still smarting and they give the garden a wide birth :lol:

 

[skyhightree1]

LMAO... Hoss.. Iwith planting like that what all did you plant in the garden? How do you fertilize?

 

[HOSS]

LMAO... Hoss.. Iwith planting like that what all did you plant in the garden? How do you fertilize?

I planted tomatoes, peppers, squash, watermelons, bush beans and cilantro. My parents put in a big garden with corn, cucumbers etc. so I didn't bother with those.

I tilled in horse manure before I put the landscaping material down. I hate, hate, hate weeding. Especially when it is 98 degrees out. Hopefully this will keep me mostly weed free.

 

[M.Magis]

I hope you have better luck with the fabric than I did. Honestly, it made things worse for me. Though I had less weeds, I still had a lot. And most of the ones I had grew through the fabric. Talk about a PITA to get rid of. I tried Preen last year and it made me a believer. I'm not sure how it works, but it really makes a difference.

 

[skyhightree1]

LMAO... Hoss.. Iwith planting like that what all did you plant in the garden? How do you fertilize?

I planted tomatoes, peppers, squash, watermelons, bush beans and cilantro. My parents put in a big garden with corn, cucumbers etc. so I didn't bother with those.

I tilled in horse manure before I put the landscaping material down. I hate, hate, hate weeding. Especially when it is 98 degrees out. Hopefully this will keep me mostly weed free.

Gotcha... I know someone that did the exact same thing minus the netting and there garden died.. they got horse poo from a stable that used grazon and forefront r&p and horses ate it no problem but it came out it was still in their poo and then active enough to kill the garden plants.

 

[M5farm]

news paper/ card board covered in straw works real well in small gardens.

 

[greybeard]

Gotcha... I know someone that did the exact same thing minus the netting and there garden died.. they got horse poo from a stable that used grazon and forefront r&p and horses ate it no problem but it came out it was still in their poo and then active enough to kill the garden plants.

Some herbicide labels warn about doing that..

If you need to fertilize, use liquid. I never put much faith in the miraclegro crystals you put in the garden hose sprayer jug, but the newer liquid version seems to be getting good results around here from everyone that used it the last couple of years. Kinda pricey tho if ya have a big garden--I haven't tried it, but my b-i-l did and he has more squash and tomatoes than he can give away.
I did use the fabric this year on a couple of small raised beds in the yard--one I have strawberry plants in. Works great, except the berry vines have no way to put down roots when they send out runners. No weeds tho is worth it.

 

[skyhightree1]

gardens are too big for the fabric and i always like cultivating fertilizer in the soil by side dressing

 

[HOSS]

Horse manure came from my horses so I know what they grazed on and what was in the hay. Works pretty good.

 

[skyhightree1]

plant onions in horse manure dirt that was tilled in really good those things will weigh over a lb each

 

[greybeard]

Checked my strawberries in the raised beds today. Both have turned into huge fire ant beds under the landscape fabric. :devil2:

 

[skyhightree1]

that really sucks

 

[slick4591]

The wife decided on trying the fabric last season in the tomato bed. I tilled it and put the fabric down, then planted and finished by covering in mulch. We still had plenty of grass and weeds come through the fabric. This year when I started to till I asked her how she was going to handle the mulch and fabric. She decided that raking the mulch and pulling the fabric would work. Wrong! Ended up tilling it all under except what fabric stuck to the tines.