Whether you have grown a beautiful flower bed, or rows and rows of vegetables, you have had to deal with weeds at some time or another.
In fact, you have probably spent more time dealing with weeds than actually tending your beautiful plants.
There have been many times I have been on all fours yanking on a weed in my vegetable garden thinking, "If vegetables grew like weeds there'd be no hunger in the world".
Although weeds can be one of the biggest annoyances of vegetable gardening, there are some pre-emptive moves you can make to lessen their effect in your vegetable garden.
Here are a few tips for keeping those menacing weeds at bay.
Get a Jump On Weeds
![Fighting Weeds in the Vegetable Garden]()
Preparing your vegetable garden in the Spring is a great time to tackle weeds since you are already cultivating and loosening the soil.
It is much easier to remove weeds, including the roots, with the soil loosened.
Take extra time to remove weeds when the season begins. Try to begin eliminating weeds as soon as you can in late winter/early spring, before the weeds really start to become active.
Be sure to remove the weed roots and not just the green portion above ground, or it will surely grow right back.
By getting a good start on fighting weeds in the vegetable garden, you can drastically reduce time and frustration in the future.
Mulch, Mulch, Mulch
Using a thick layer of mulch in your vegetable garden can be huge for suppressing weeds.
Of course, mulch can help in many other ways such as conserving soil moisture, and warming/cooling soil temperatures.
You can use an organic mulch such as hay straw, bark mulches, grass clippings, leaves, or compost.
You can also use an inorganic mulch such as weed fabric, or plastic mulches.
The organic mulches work best with a two to four inch layer for suppressing weeds. A thicker layer can be used in walkways and paths, but be careful about layering it too thick around plants, especially seedlings. You may want to push the mulch an inch or two from around the base of young plants.
Mulch is a great defense against weeds, and is a must in my vegetable garden.
Use Raised Beds or Containers
Growing vegetables in raised beds, or containers is a great way to duck many weed issues. Since raised beds are typically filled with a "new" soil mixture, weeds are not native to the beds.
Raised beds also make it much easier to spot weeds and pluck them when they are just sprouting before they have a chance to settle in and take over.
Plants are also spaced much closer together in most raised beds which can help crowd out weeds.
Reduce Plant Spacing
As mentioned above, planting your vegetables a little closer together can help with preventing weeds.
Using intensive planting methods can not only increase the amount of vegetables you produce, but it also helps to keep weeds out. The idea is if something is already growing in a spot then a weed can't grow there.
When creating your garden plan figure out how you can decrease plant spacings for many of your vegetables. Some vegetables like radishes, lettuces, onions, spinach, arugula, and others can be grown successfully a little closer together than the seed pack recommendations.
Just don't go crazy with the plant spacing as it is still important to give plants enough room to grow.
Avoid Herbicides
When weeds start getting out of hand, try to avoid using that stuff that starts with a "R". Herbicides can be very deadly for your vegetable garden, and also contaminate garden soil.
It might be a bit more work preventing weeds hands-on, but it will be much better for your vegetable garden in the long term.
In fact, I would say that it is better to have some weeds than to use a chemical herbicide.
Giving Weeds a One - Two Punch
It may take more than one of these strategies for preventing weeds in the vegetable garden, or it may take all of them. With a bit of planning and defense you can keep weeds from overtaking your vegetable garden.
Even having some weeds is not a complete cause for alarm because many weeds help to attract beneficial insects. So, even if a few weeds are giving you trouble, it might be worth it to leave a few of them around.
In fact, you have probably spent more time dealing with weeds than actually tending your beautiful plants.
There have been many times I have been on all fours yanking on a weed in my vegetable garden thinking, "If vegetables grew like weeds there'd be no hunger in the world".
Although weeds can be one of the biggest annoyances of vegetable gardening, there are some pre-emptive moves you can make to lessen their effect in your vegetable garden.
Here are a few tips for keeping those menacing weeds at bay.
Get a Jump On Weeds
It is much easier to remove weeds, including the roots, with the soil loosened.
Take extra time to remove weeds when the season begins. Try to begin eliminating weeds as soon as you can in late winter/early spring, before the weeds really start to become active.
Be sure to remove the weed roots and not just the green portion above ground, or it will surely grow right back.
By getting a good start on fighting weeds in the vegetable garden, you can drastically reduce time and frustration in the future.
Mulch, Mulch, Mulch
Using a thick layer of mulch in your vegetable garden can be huge for suppressing weeds.Of course, mulch can help in many other ways such as conserving soil moisture, and warming/cooling soil temperatures.
You can use an organic mulch such as hay straw, bark mulches, grass clippings, leaves, or compost.
You can also use an inorganic mulch such as weed fabric, or plastic mulches.
The organic mulches work best with a two to four inch layer for suppressing weeds. A thicker layer can be used in walkways and paths, but be careful about layering it too thick around plants, especially seedlings. You may want to push the mulch an inch or two from around the base of young plants.
Mulch is a great defense against weeds, and is a must in my vegetable garden.
Use Raised Beds or Containers
Growing vegetables in raised beds, or containers is a great way to duck many weed issues. Since raised beds are typically filled with a "new" soil mixture, weeds are not native to the beds.Raised beds also make it much easier to spot weeds and pluck them when they are just sprouting before they have a chance to settle in and take over.
Plants are also spaced much closer together in most raised beds which can help crowd out weeds.
Reduce Plant Spacing
As mentioned above, planting your vegetables a little closer together can help with preventing weeds.
Using intensive planting methods can not only increase the amount of vegetables you produce, but it also helps to keep weeds out. The idea is if something is already growing in a spot then a weed can't grow there.
When creating your garden plan figure out how you can decrease plant spacings for many of your vegetables. Some vegetables like radishes, lettuces, onions, spinach, arugula, and others can be grown successfully a little closer together than the seed pack recommendations.
Just don't go crazy with the plant spacing as it is still important to give plants enough room to grow.
Avoid Herbicides
When weeds start getting out of hand, try to avoid using that stuff that starts with a "R". Herbicides can be very deadly for your vegetable garden, and also contaminate garden soil.
It might be a bit more work preventing weeds hands-on, but it will be much better for your vegetable garden in the long term.
In fact, I would say that it is better to have some weeds than to use a chemical herbicide.
Giving Weeds a One - Two Punch
It may take more than one of these strategies for preventing weeds in the vegetable garden, or it may take all of them. With a bit of planning and defense you can keep weeds from overtaking your vegetable garden.
Even having some weeds is not a complete cause for alarm because many weeds help to attract beneficial insects. So, even if a few weeds are giving you trouble, it might be worth it to leave a few of them around.
They are full of nutrition and are good for you.
