Hello from Ontario Canada

[Sq1955]

Just want to introduce myself! My husband and I are seniors and had a log home built on 3 acres of wooded forest land. Prior to the build, the land was cleared for the house. We have been living in it for 2 years now. Last summer we had our first vegetable garden. We tilled the ground a few times then proceeded to plant several things. Some things did amazing! Like weeds! So many that we eventually lost control of them. Other things like tomatoes, bush beans, and carrots did well. We are hoping for some tips and pointers by joining this group! What do you think of a mesh or some kind of covering placed on the weeds before planting? Any suggestions are appreciate!

 

[meadow]

Hi, and welcome to the forum! 🙂

Whenever ground is disturbed, it seems to allow old weed seeds to wake up and start growing. A mulch on freshly worked ground can prevent those old seeds from germinating, and even smother young weeds.

If you have an invasive grass that grows from runners (like quackgrass), then breaking the root leaves a segment that will sprout new grass. No amount of mulching or covers will eliminate quackgrass; the pointy spears of new growth can even go through landscape fabric (it does slow it down though).

 

[flowerbug]

Just want to introduce myself! My husband and I are seniors and had a log home built on 3 acres of wooded forest land. Prior to the build, the land was cleared for the house. We have been living in it for 2 years now. Last summer we had our first vegetable garden. We tilled the ground a few times then proceeded to plant several things. Some things did amazing! Like weeds! So many that we eventually lost control of them. Other things like tomatoes, bush beans, and carrots did well. We are hoping for some tips and pointers by joining this group! What do you think of a mesh or some kind of covering placed on the weeds before planting? Any suggestions are appreciate!

hello and welcome to TEG, Ontario is rather huge and has a lot of different climates so if you can put your general location in your profile that will help others answer your questions.

when breaking new ground for vegetable gardens it can take several years to get the most obnoxious weeds under control. in really extreme circumstances it may take several years before it seems like you are making much progress. controlling the edges is very important for some weed species (that come up from runners, roots or stolons). in some cases i will mulch an area by putting down several layers of cardboard, weed barrier fabric and then mulch on top (wood chips are easy to get here so they are my preference and can be reused later too if needed). the mulch has to be deep enough to prevent any light from getting through and you have to make sure the edges and seams are overlapped and sometimes even folded has to be done to prevent weeds from exploiting any gaps. even with all of this done you may still not get rid of the longer living seeds that will be in the soil seed bank.

another method i use is to cut the top layer of sod and to bury it deeply enough (with cardboard or newspaper layers over it so that makes it harder for any roots in there to regrow) and then start my garden in that area, all the time keeping it scraped and weeded as best i can. if you make your rows wide enough and enough room between garden plants so that you can scrape then you are making it easier on yourself. the more you have to get down and hand weed closely the tougher it can be. i also have some ground pillows to sit on when i want to work on close weeding.

using cover crops (in the fall) and at any times you aren't going to grow a crop in a space will often save you some weeded and also provide some potential food and also it is nicer to see green than bare dirt.

when weeding it helps to not disturb the top layer of soil because that will move seeds around from below and into the germination zone. mulches can help keep weed seeds from sprouting or make it easier to pull weeds out once they've started, but you do still have to weed.

so start smaller and get used to the chores you need to do regularly and see how much space you can keep up. as time goes on and you learn more you can usually increase your space, but leave some wiggle room too because you don't want to spend every moment in the gardens and not have some other fun too.

in the end, grow the things you know you will eat and enjoy as those provide the most motivation for getting things done and also for enjoying the fruits of your labors.

only scratching the surface, but we all had to start the same way.

 

[Triffid]

A warm welcome to you!
I do not think I've got very much else to add regarding weed control beyond what the two comments above have covered.
If you have a lot of cardboard boxes left from the move you can use them as weed suppressant and cover with a layer of leaf mould. This time of year is good.
I practice no-dig/no-till on my beds and weeds are few and far between. Even if you find you must dig or till initially, to remove rocks, perennial weeds, hardpan, etc., you can still mulch the area after and essentially never have to dig again. That first flush of weeds from the newly turned soil will be easy to control when they are very small, like threads. Just run over the surface of the soil with a light hoe or wire weeder every other day for a couple of weeks and they'll be mostly wiped out. Wire weeders are a godsend Very light, easy to make at home, and safe to use quickly between crops.
Best of luck!

 

[heirloomgal]

Hello and welcome from Ontario, Canada! 🇨🇦

I've had success with a straw (not hay!) mulch of a certain thickness. When the season is over you can just till it right under and it improves the soil texture. It also helps retain moisture.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Welcome from Louisiana, glad you found us.