Maintain a Weedless Organic Garden
(Page 2 of 4)
June/July 2007
Story and Photos by Lee Reich
Wood chips or leaves (whole or shredded) are good mulches for plants that aren’t particularly heavy feeders, such as established trees and shrubs, most flowers (delphiniums and roses are notable exceptions), and just about everything else. I get wood chips from local arborists, and “harvest” bags of leaves from my neighbors, who call me when it’s time to pick them up — a supply I occasionally supplement with a truckload of leaves from a local landscaper.
RELATED CONTENT
Getting the right rocks can be as challenging as picking the proper plants...
Disney offers free admission to 1 million guests who complete day of volunteer work in 2010...
With increased interest in organic and hormone-free milk comes a need for help in identifying the c...
HOME GARDEN'S EXPERTS DESIGN A VEGETABLE MINI-GARDEN FOR $10 May/June 1974 No, you don't need a cou...
COVER CROPS
Over the years, I’ve become increasingly interested in living mulches, also known as cover crops — plants specifically grown to protect and improve the soil. Like traditional mulches, cover crops smother weeds, enrich the soil with humus that increases nutrient availability, and add nitrogen to the soil in the case of leguminous cover crops.
Two big advantages of using cover crops as mulch are that the cover crop roots improve the soil as they grow and die, plus you only have to carry a small bag of seeds out to the garden, rather than hauling garden carts full of bulky materials.
You can set aside part of the garden to plant a season’s worth of cover crops, or try my approach: squeeze in cool-season cover crops at the end of summer and again in early autumn. Because I never till my soil, I grow cover crops, such as oats, peas and barley that naturally succumb to winter cold here in New York. By winter’s end, I just rake up the stems and leaves on top of the soil, leaving the dead roots intact, along with the myriad channels they’ve created.
Crops that don’t naturally winterkill can also be used. Just mow them over when they’re about to flower, or dispose of them with repeated mowing. To learn about the best choices for your region, download “Managing Cover Crops Profitably.” To order cover crop seeds by mail, contact Peaceful Valley Farm Supply or Johnny’s Selected Seeds.
DRIP IRRIGATION
Drip irrigation helps keep my garden weed-free, because it doesn’t water weeds along the paths or between rows the way regular sprinklers do. Slowly dripping water onto the crop’s root zone also conserves water. In fact, drip systems can reach 95 percent application efficiency, and save up to 75 percent of the water used by sprinkler systems.
You can buy drip irrigation system installation kits at garden centers, hardware stores and home improvement stores. For larger systems, consider hiring a landscape professional. A basic drip irrigation system consists of five elements:
1. Feeder tubes. Often called “emitters” or “drip tape” because it’s sold flattened on a roll, these tubes are made from black polyethylene plastic, with holes spaced at regular intervals to dispense water at a relatively constant rate, even with changes in elevation and water pressure. For widely spaced plants, individual emitters can be plugged into mainline piping as needed.
