|
| I have been attempting to control the weeds in my half-acre yard, garden, and orchard this year without using Caseron or monobor chlorate, or any other man-made chemicals. Advice for home gardeners just isn't cutting it; my area is huge, and using hand pulling, or burning weeds, or sheet mulching with cardboard and wood chips is proving far too costly in hired help, and doesn't keep the weeds in check regardless of the multitudinous hours we've put into this effort. Public gardens and parks are not overrun with weeds in the pathways and around shrubs; how can I accomplish the orderliness typically found there?
I'm hoping that by posting in a professional area I will learn technique that work in something larger than the typical home yard and garden. Some specifics: 1. I have compacted gravel covering pathways and patios totaling about 3200 sq feet. In these areas, which have landscape fabric beneath the gravel and are edged with concrete blocks, the weeds are continuous. I'm sure they are from blown-in seeds. Sometimes they pull easily, and sometimes not. But I don't have time to pull the many, many weeds no matter how quickly they pull. I need to greatly reduce their number or to eliminate them. 2. The second problem area is the cardboard/wood chipped areas, which is the shrubbery beds and the orchard, about 6650 sq feet. When we put down a thick layer of cardboard covered with 3-4" of wood chips, the weeds stay gone for about 6 months. Then the cardboard has disintegrated and the weeds come up through the wood chips (despite being told by an organization that should know better that 3-4" of wood chips will keep the weeds down). We must rake away the decomposing chips, put down more cardboard (which takes a lot of time to gather in sufficient quantities), and cover again with wood chips. Looks great then, but I don't have time to redo these areas twice a year. I have put down corn gluten on one path (400 sq ft area), and in one wood chip area (also 400 sq feet); we are waiting to compare these areas with comparable areas that are untreated. So far, I am not impressed; all areas need weeding within 2 weeks of application. Please help with any suggestions YOU HAVE FOUND THAT WORK. Please do not make suggestions based on theory; I just don't have time to do any more experimenting. As things are progressing now, the weeds will either chase us off this lot and out of this home, or I will have to revert to chemical means. Thanks very much for considering my need. |
Follow-Up Postings:
|
- Posted by purpleinopp 8b AL (My Page) on Tue, Aug 14, 12 at 9:54
| You may want to ask on the organic forum. |
Please Note: Only registered members are able to post messages to this forum. If you are a member, please log in. If you aren't yet a member, join now!
Return to the Tips & Techniques Forum
Instructions
- You must be a registered member and logged in to post messages on our forums.
- Posting is a two-step process. Once you have composed your message, you will be taken to the preview page. You will then have a chance to review the contents and make changes.
- After posting your message, you may need to refresh the forum page in order to see it.
- It is illegal to post copyrighted material without the owner's consent.
- HTML codes are allowed in the message field only.
- No advertising is allowed in any of the forums.
- If you would like to practice posting or uploading photos, please visit our Test forum.
- If you need assistance, please Contact Us and we will be happy to help.