Weed Control Strategies
(Page 5 of 5)
December/January 2002
By Carol Mack
Sue and her husband Craig are co-owners of Redwood City Seed Company. Founded in1971, it was one of the first companies to specialize in nonhybrid, traditional seeds. To find the best tasting selections, they go to the source: the indigenous peoples and countries where the varieties originated. Searching for the hottest pepper vari eties is Craig's passion, as well as consulting for large-scale reestablishment of native grasses in the West.
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[Redwood City Seed Company; (650) 325-7333; www.ecoseeds.com ]
"In our region, weed removal can be the most consuming task of gardening, because weeding leaves a vacancy for another weed to take its place. Keep the 'occupied' sign out by doing the stomp, toss, stomp routine when you see a weed. Stomp on the weed to flatten it, toss a handful of wheat straw on top, and then stomp the straw in place. Eventually, with enough mulch, the soil will be loose and the few weeds that make it past the mulch will be easy to pull."
Almanac Editor
CAROL MACK, NEWPORT WASHINGTON
When Carol isn't hounding the contributors to get their advice submitted onschedule, you can find her in her garden or at the Washington State University Extension office where she coordinates the Pend Oreille County Master Gardener program. She and her husband live in the Northern Rockies, 50 miles south of the Canadian border (see "Reports from the Field," August/September 2001) and try every trick in the book to extend their short growing season.
"My worst weeds are the perennials that spread with runners, like quack grass. I once dug up a pocket-gopher tunnel system, and discovered storage rooms with quack grass rhizome pieces neatly stacked like cordwood. As if it needed help to spread everywhere! My best friend in the fight is my old turning fork—I can dig up the plant with the root system intact and just shake the soil loose so no fragments are left to regrow. I also use lots of cardboard and paper mulch, especially in large areas like the aisles between raised beds and under fruit trees. I've come to appreciate many annual weeds, and use them as a volunteer cover crop. I even let some, such as lamb's-quarter and pennycress, self-seed because they'll grow quickly next year in the cold spring soil where nothing is planted."
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