Weeds Wishing I had built those raised beds this past winter!

ginnie6

ginnie6

Veteran Member
So its time to plant and here I am another year cussing over the THICK cover of weeds that have taken over. It seems it gets worse every year. So this year I'm going to try something different. I've got so much cardboard it isn't even funny and every bit of it is going down in the garden. Then I'm covering in mulch and poking holes thru for plants. Last year I took pizza boxes (from vbs at church) and laid down in the rows and it worked pretty good. Some of them are still there. I'm going to try it and pray for the best. Probably means individual watering but the weeds will take over if I don't do something. The hubster and I agreed though this fall we are building those beds!
 
S

summerthyme

Administrator
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I save all the dog and cat food bags. I cut the side seams, so I get a long, narrow strip. Then I lay them between the rows of plastic mulch. We put 4' wide strips of what used to be called "solar film" (weed blocking brown plastic which transfers the sun's heat through to the soil beneath) about 18" apart. It saves tons of weeding around the plants, but that narrow strip is a weed problem... I can keep up with the Mantis-type tiller until the plants start getting big, but then it turns into a jungle. The bags keep 95% of the weeds down. I hold them down with stones (LOTS of stones in our fertile, silt loan soil!) or Earth Staples.

Summerthyme
 
kyrsyan

kyrsyan

Has No Life - Lives on TB
I cover with cardboard, then a very thick layer of newpapers, and then wood mulch over the top of that. I have a knife I save just for punching through that to plant if I do it before planting. Works like a charm. And I'm going to have to do it again this year. The weeds are nuts.
 
JMG91

JMG91

Veteran Member
Yup. Did the cardboard thing last year, and it worked pretty well. Although, I didn't poke holes in it for the plants, I just made the soil over top of it deep enough that I was able to plant right over the cardboard. The cardboard's since broken down this year, but it killed all of the weeds that were growing in the garden plot, and I doubt they'll be able to make an appearance this year.
 
packyderms_wife

packyderms_wife

Neither here nor there.
ginnie6 said:
Well we built 6 beds today! They're short but we will make them deeper as we go. Now to get some plants ready to go in them.
Click to expand...

This is what we did, OC was hesitant at first but as we get older it’s just easier on our backs, hips, and knees. We amend each year and increase the height of one or two beds each year. Some things like pole beans, cucumbers which get trellised, and zucchini/squash still get planted directly into the ground, the rest goes into raised beds.

28” seems to be optimal height with the soil about six inches maybe less beneath the top of the bed.
 
ginnie6

ginnie6

Veteran Member
and after all that work dd and I did getting those beds built and in place where dh wanted them he moved them! He decided it would be better after all all to till the whole garden plot and get some more dirt in them. It never fails.....anything I do he comes behind me and does it over. I was slightly grumpy over the whole thing!
Ours will be about 28" we think when we're done. For now the squash and tomatoes will go in the ground. I plan on planting a good many tomatoes to can.
 
packyderms_wife

packyderms_wife

Neither here nor there.
ginnie6 said:
and after all that work dd and I did getting those beds built and in place where dh wanted them he moved them! He decided it would be better after all all to till the whole garden plot and get some more dirt in them. It never fails.....anything I do he comes behind me and does it over. I was slightly grumpy over the whole thing!
Ours will be about 28" we think when we're done. For now the squash and tomatoes will go in the ground. I plan on planting a good many tomatoes to can.
Click to expand...

It's a guy thing, OC usually wants or tries to do the same thing, when I talk to my girlfriends about it their husbands/partners will try to do the same thing. I'm just happy he's interested enough to give me a hand, even if has to be done his way, lol. At least he's not opposed to my gardening like some of my girlfriends' husbands are... something I've never understood.
 
nomifyle

nomifyle

TB Fanatic
DH built 4 raised beds this past fall. They are 6" tall, which is too low, but its what I have this year. After we are finished with them this year I'm going to buy enough lumber to build them up another 4 boards high, which in the end my not be high enough but they will be a lot better for my back. But I'm blessed to have what I have.

Judy
 
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