Does "Solarizing" Soil Work To Reduce Unwanted Weeds?

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Dsntgrowpot

Active Member
In my veggie garden I have a severe weed problem, pardon the pun, with pig weed, sedge, goose grass etc. I try to make it as organic as possible, therefore do not like to use herdicide. I am also to lazy/busy to pull them all. Has anyone used this method before? How long should I leave plastic on?Thanks in advance for your help
 
bigbenzo420

bigbenzo420

Well-Known Member
Dsntgrowpot said:
In my veggie garden I have a severe weed problem, pardon the pun, with pig weed, sedge, goose grass etc. I try to make it as organic as possible, therefore do not like to use herdicide. I am also to lazy/busy to pull them all. Has anyone used this method before? How long should I leave plastic on?Thanks in advance for your help
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are u serious get off ur lazy azz and pull all that crap out:weed:
 
weedyoo

weedyoo

Well-Known Member
i am really shure the plastic stays down i use the garden weasel its the one with 5 forks on the bottom and you turn it by hand. or a small rototiller if you are lazy. any garden is alot of work.
 
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Dsntgrowpot

Active Member
Bigbenzo you don't understand i'm in the tropics. Once the problem gets out of hand its uncontrolable. It would take 6 or 8 hours a week to pull them.
 
T

trich1022

Active Member
the weeds you listed won't be controlled well with solarization. they are all hot weather plants. the nutsedge also reproduces with seeds and little potato like roots called nutlets. all the seeds can stay dormant for 10's of years if need be. the the goose grass can be controlled the most, but the pigweed with it's extremely hard seed coat and nutsedge with it's two method's of reproducing pose more issues. let them germ and then spray with vinegar if you need to be organic. try a blow torch even.
 
misshestermoffitt

misshestermoffitt

New Member
Somewhere there is a thread about using old carpet for your garden. Lay it out then cut holes to plant in. It's apparently weed free and a very interesting look.
 
old pothead

old pothead

Well-Known Member
I have used both plastic and carpet in the garden.Both have their drawbacks.Plastic causes the soil to heat up too much and does not allow for proper watering.You will need soaker hoses run down each row to water,if you try to water just at the base of the plant it will not encourage the roots to spread.If you use plastic you will need to cover it with mulch to keep the heat down.Plastic tears apart into little pieces when you try to take it up.
Carpet is better,it lets the rain pass through and does not retain the heat.It also will fall apart after a year on the ground and be a pain to get up.
Whatever you do have your soil tested and prep your soil so you only have to fertilize once.Fertilizing every time or other time you water is bad for the aquafer,that is why all of our creeks have green moss growing in them.
Buy a mini tiller like the mantis,3or4 times over the garden will bring the seeds to the top and kill the seeds.Even when you have some pop up during the season it is easy to get around the plants and helps keep the top from crusting up.OPH
 
misshestermoffitt

misshestermoffitt

New Member
I'm going to try more container gardening. I read of a way to grow potatoes above ground in rings of chicken wire with compost and straw. I'm going to give it a whirl this year and see how it goes.

I grew green onions in a planter box a few years ago, they grew just fine and I didn't have the weeds issue.
 
old pothead

old pothead

Well-Known Member
Misshestermoffitt,have your old man build you a box with one side removable.When the taters are growing you just dump soil in to cover the stem,no need to build mounds around them.When it is time to harvest the taters you take the removable side off and the taters just fall out.NO DIGGING.OPH :-P
 
South Texas

South Texas

Well-Known Member
About 4 years ago, a Master Gardener said that weeds in the garden is due to improper soil.
WTF?? Took me 3 plus years to get my head around this statement..., I thought I had not heard him right. But it's true. Now, I want to hear theories as to why a good soil will not have any weeds & why. The only hint I will give is why, in certain conditions, will WILD clover strive? Or, dessert cactus, for that matter. ????
 
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Dsntgrowpot

Active Member
misshestermoffitt said:
I'm going to try more container gardening. I read of a way to grow potatoes above ground in rings of chicken wire with compost and straw. I'm going to give it a whirl this year and see how it goes.

I grew green onions in a planter box a few years ago, they grew just fine and I didn't have the weeds issue.
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I have heard of growing potatos in old tires I saw picture of it and it looked like it was working great
 
Don't Bogart

Don't Bogart

Well-Known Member
old pothead said:
I have used both plastic and carpet in the garden.Both have their drawbacks.Plastic causes the soil to heat up too much and does not allow for proper watering.You will need soaker hoses run down each row to water,if you try to water just at the base of the plant it will not encourage the roots to spread.If you use plastic you will need to cover it with mulch to keep the heat down.Plastic tears apart into little pieces when you try to take it up.
Carpet is better,it lets the rain pass through and does not retain the heat.It also will fall apart after a year on the ground and be a pain to get up.
Whatever you do have your soil tested and prep your soil so you only have to fertilize once.Fertilizing every time or other time you water is bad for the aquafer,that is why all of our creeks have green moss growing in them.
Buy a mini tiller like the mantis,3or4 times over the garden will bring the seeds to the top and kill the seeds.Even when you have some pop up during the season it is easy to get around the plants and helps keep the top from crusting up.OPH
Click to expand...

I've seen a method of stacking tires to grow spuds. Tires keep it warm. Harvest by taking down the tires.
 
misshestermoffitt

misshestermoffitt

New Member
I don't understand this statement at all. Weed seeds can lay underground for up to 20 years waiting for the soil to be turned so they can sprout.

We have great soil here, it's black and rich and the weeds just thrive. I've gotten a patch weed free before but then once I dug around in the dirt and turned things over, the weeds just sprouted from everywhere.



South Texas said:
About 4 years ago, a Master Gardener said that weeds in the garden is due to improper soil.
WTF?? Took me 3 plus years to get my head around this statement..., I thought I had not heard him right. But it's true. Now, I want to hear theories as to why a good soil will not have any weeds & why. The only hint I will give is why, in certain conditions, will WILD clover strive? Or, dessert cactus, for that matter. ????
Click to expand...
 
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