Weeds...the roots of all evil

I have a friend that says that creeping charlie doesn't creep, it sprints! Anyone who has ever had an infestation knows that this is true. We have about an acre surrounded by large trees and wooded areas which seems to make it especially difficult to stay ahead of the weeds. Besides the creeping charlie and garlic mustard I have miniature maple trees everywhere from my neighbor's soft maple airplane seeds. Poison ivy took hold of my woods last year during the wet season and infects my poor sensitive neighbor...now that's a way to foster neighborly love! In the interest of the environment, I've been trying out some ways to reduce the weed population in my yard without harmful herbicides. Here are some of my techniques....

Cultivation
An old fashioned hoe with some back put into it does wonders in the vegetable and flower gardens. If I hoe now I'm pretty much OK until fall. It's not my favorite method...it's hard work! And it's not practical in large areas such as in the woods.

Mulching
Mulching not only helps to keep the weeds down, but it also retains moisture. This year I'm mulching with grass first and then leaves in the vegetable garden. I'm trying to use my "yard waste" as a "yard resource" and not sending so much to the city compost pile. That way I keep my land resources on the land where it was formed.

Plant canopies
This year I planned my vegetable garden without rows. I grouped the plants next to each other with a few stone pathways into the center to have access to the plants there.  The canopy of tomatoes, beans and potatoes is now large enough to choke out the weeds below. It works with the mulching to keep weeding down to a minimum.

Heat
My friend Robyn swears by pouring boiling water on weeds in the spring to kill them by the roots. I've never tried it but it makes sense since organic farms use flame heat to kill weeds in rows of their crops. She says that she can selectively kill even the dreaded creeping charlie in her lawn with this technique. The spring got away from me (I was busy with the chickens, ya know) but I plan to try it next year...how simple is that?

Chicken power
I have large areas in the woods that have been taken over by all sorts of weeds. I want to plant perennials and ground covers in these areas in the fall and next spring...but the thought of digging creeping charlie roots by hand is just overwhelming. Enter my five fabulous hens. The hens not only help to keep the lawn green and lush (provided they are in one spot for only one day), but given a few more days, they will completely devastate a weed infested area...roots and all. I've been moving their chicken tractor around weed infested areas of the woods since the weather got warmer. It keeps them from over fertilizing the lawn and gives them shade on hot days...and they do the work of annihilating the weeds for me!

Off with their heads
Frequent mowing is supposed to help with weed control. Apparently, cutting your lawn is like giving the grass a haircut and cutting off the heads of the weeds (catchy, huh?) Now if someone would just come up with some ideas to motivate the man of the house to mow more frequently. I got nothin' on that.

Last resort
WIth noxious weeds like poison ivy, I admit that I use a little Round-up herbicide. My neighbor is so allergic to poison ivy that if she walks by it she is infected. It's created some tension let me tell ya. I'm not always aware of where it has taken root but she lets me know! I certainly don't blame her! If anyone knows of another way to get rid of this pest, please let me know!

Comments

[Kevin]

I always go the manual route to get rid of poison ivy. I can't imagine even buying Roundup. Usually what I do it take a spade and dig out a pretty good clod of dirt around the base of the plant, trying to get as many of the roots as I can. Just to make sure it doesn't come back I'll lay down a piece of roofing shingle to smother any roots that are left. The next year I gather up all of the pieces of tile and use them where I pull out more ivy. After ten years on my acreage I'm almost completely poison ivy free.