How to Prevent Weeds in the Garden. 

Let’s talk about how to prevent weeds in the garden to make your gardening journey much easier.  

Every season gardeners go through the battle of the weeds no matter where they live.  Your garden plants appreciate a good rain but so do those pesky weeds that constantly pop up.  So how do we prevent weeds from starting in an organic manner? 

Living Mulch

This may be my favorite method because it is multi-purpose.  A living mulch could be spreading lettuce seed amongst your plants for it to fill in the empty spaces.  The lettuce then takes up the bare soil without overpowering the plants already present and it’s bonus food.  

Aside from being edible, having the lettuce in that space serves 2 purposes.  The first is, it is harder for weed seed to take hold if something is already growing in the soil.  The second is providing a protective soil cover that will help to retain moisture and avoid the possibility of hydrophobic soil.  

Living mulch could also be in the form of a ground cover that will stay low so as not to block out sun that your other plants need.  Just be sure to do your research and make sure you aren’t planting anything invasive that will choke out your veggie plants. 

Weed Barriers 

This is a rather broad term because there are many applications.  One of the best ways to prevent weeds is actually during the winter while your soil lays unused.  Keeping your soil covered with mulch such as straw prevents weed seeds flying in on the wind from taking hold in your garden.  

If you aren’t a fan of different mulching options, you could tarp your beds through to Spring.  Just keep in mind that tarping beds can kill off the nutrients in your soil. You would need to amend your soil in the spring prior to planting.   It is also important to note that if you go this route, you may end up creating a greenhouse effect for weed seeds that are already in your garden.  This happens when the soil does not heat up enough under the tarp before you get to planting your items out. 

Constructing hoop houses over your beds could be another option.   This is also a multi purpose choice, because you can extend your growing season with protective cloth.  While keeping the weeds out, you could be growing cold hardy brassicas into a portion of winter.  

The Garden Has Been BREACHED!

Unfortunately, there will always be weeds that still make it past your efforts to prevent them.  The next best thing is to pull weeds as soon as you see them pop up.  There are many invasive plants that will develop a very long taproot.  That makes them near impossible to get rid of once established.  Try to be as diligent as possible in plucking out the things.  

So what do you do about weeds you left too long?  Yank them from the root if possible.  Keep them trimmed down if not.  If you don’t have other things in the area you are trying to keep alive, place cardboard over them.  Utilizing a cover over weeds prevents them from obtaining sun.  It also creates a pocket of heat that will hopefully take the weed out entirely. 

If your weeds have gotten out of control and you don’t have time to knock it all out at once, go around plucking the flowers.  You don’t want weeds to go to seed.  That will just spread more around your property that you have to take care of later.  Prioritize any weeds growing around your soil pile if you have one as well as around the perimeter of your garden beds.   Work your way outwards and then come back later to mow, weed whack, yank, or dig weeds out as you have the time.  

Overall Weedy Thoughts 

The best way to deal with weeds is to prevent them first and foremost. This is the least labor intensive option and the least frustrating.  The next best thing is to stay on top of them as they pop up.  The best medicine for your garden is you, the gardener.  Take 5 minutes a day to go out and check on your garden.  Tie up plants that may be falling over and pluck out any pesky weeds starting to take hold.  Those few minutes a day will compound into a well-maintained garden that does not require a severe amount of your time down the road.