I think the weeds have won (landscape, grow, grass, Fruit Trees)

[jambo101]

I've had an urban garden plot (!5X15)for the last 5 years and battling the weeds has always been an arduous task thats involved many hours a week of labor.Now with failing mobility/flexibility i just cant get to the garden more than a few hours a week and bending down to address the problem is impossible, as a result the weeds are now winning the battle and my garden looks depressing.
As i cant find any kids to pay $10 an hour to weed i'm left with very few options, one of which is covering the entire garden with heavy black plastic and poking holes in it to plant the produce,
My other option is to give up the garden and focus more on window boxes and container gardening on the back balcony..I'm thinking the latter is the more logical option.
Any one been down this road with their garden?

[uggabugga]

Any one been down this road with their garden?

yes, definitely.

the fact that you presumably haven't been introducing very many new weeds to this 15x15 plot [they're pulled before they get a chance to seed] speaks volumes about how many weed seeds are present, and how they can lay dormant for years, then pop up seemingly out of nowhere. i've always wondered how many viable weed seeds were present in, say, a couple of cubic inches of my garden's topsoil. it's probably in the hundreds, at least.

it's pretty sad that 10 bucks an hour isn't enough to convince any kids to pull weeds. have you been using a rototiller in the spring to get some of those seeds turned under deep enough that they won't germinate to reach the surface?
besides using black plastic mulch, putting down a thick layer of straw mulch might be another alternative.

[nmnita]

I know what you mean; we can't do the bending and pulling much anymore, but I did get out today and pulled a few weeds. I have one section that is about 10x6 that I lined, this spring, with cardboard, then added the top soil and the mulch: not a single weed has appeared yet. Of course you can use weed killer, but if you are talking vegetables that isn't a good option. I do use a lot of soil every spring and a lot of mulch, this doesn't prevent all the weeds, but it sure seems to help....other than that or as you said, the platic route, there are not a lot of options. I know what you mean about the kids. We finally had to hire someone to do our mowing, it costs us $35 every two weeks and takes the guy about 20 minutes including edging...

Nita

[Big George]

Suggestion:

Take a sponge mop, and dip it in bucket with a diluted solution of water with RoundUp. Touch the weeds you want to kill, with the damp sponge.

Because you're using a sponge, you'll avoid overspray, and possibly killing your vegetables. And because the mop has a handle, you'll avoid so much bending over.


Good luck!

[Butterfly4u]

Jambo,
Raised garden beds.
Mabey you can contact a landscaper to see how much he would charge
to install some raised garden beds for you.
You won't have to bend over, much fewer weeds, and you will have
your fresh veggies too!
Do a google search on raised garden beds and see how everyone
is doing it!

[HB2HSV]

Raised bed garden is a good idea. Any weeds are easily unplugged sine the soil is soft.

I built my two 4'X8' beds using 2"X12"X8' boards from big box store. They cost less than $12/ea, needs 3 of them per bed, screwed in from each sides. Line the landscape fabric on each side of wood, and get high quality top soil from your local nursery. As an option, line outside bed with patio stones to enhance the beauty of your yard (and eliminate weeds). Supplement the corners with dwarf fruit trees like meyer's lemon, Fuyu asian persimmon, etc., you can have a beautifully landscape garden yard instead.

[jambo101]

Our allotment doesnt allow raised gardens anymore as evidently the use of railway ties and the like became a big problem as the whole area started to look more like a lumber yard rather than a garden so now the rule is no structures made of wood other than a tool boxes.
Most weeds i can just grab and pull out without bending too far over but this year the main weed seems to be crab grass which is hard to deal with unless you are on your hands and knees and it kinda wraps itself up in the vegetables you are trying to grow so when you go to pull a clump of this stuff out some of your vegetables come with it..
I was sitting in the back yesterday and was estimating how many kitty litter containers i could squeeze on my balcony and the steps going down to the area in back of our house,,22 and i'll bet there wont be a weed in any of em,,,better start saving those plastic kitty litter containers for next year..its the only way..

[HB2HSV]

Originally Posted by jambo101

Our allotment doesnt allow raised gardens anymore as evidently the use of railway ties and the like became a big problem as the whole area started to look more like a lumber yard rather than a garden so now the rule is no structures made of wood other than a tool boxes ..

You can use bricks/ cinder blocks instead of wood for raised bed.

[subject2change]

They also sell raised bed kits made of heavy vinyl online. It's much more expensive, but they might be worth it if they keep the association and your back happier.

[aaronmidnight]

+1 on the cinder block idea. A friend of mine has good luck creating raised beds that way in TN. Maybe your allotment would be more flexible with that idea?