We have a large vegetable garden.

weeds eventually grow throughout the garden, and of course need to be
removed, which is a tedious job.

I don't know where the weeds come from, but they only grow in the
garden, and they grow fast.

If we built a greenhouse on half of the garden, will the weeds from
outside of the garden spread easily into the garden? would the weeding
job be easier? let's assume that once it is planted, the tools are only
used inside the greenhouse and there is little walking between the
greenhouse and the open areas.

in other words, will a screen protect the weeds from spreading? I
assume it is airborn somehow.

dave

wrote in message
oups.com...
We have a large vegetable garden.

weeds eventually grow throughout the garden, and of course need to be
removed, which is a tedious job.

I don't know where the weeds come from, but they only grow in the
garden, and they grow fast.

If we built a greenhouse on half of the garden, will the weeds from
outside of the garden spread easily into the garden? would the weeding
job be easier? let's assume that once it is planted, the tools are only
used inside the greenhouse and there is little walking between the
greenhouse and the open areas.

in other words, will a screen protect the weeds from spreading? I
assume it is airborn somehow.

dave


What tools and methods do you use NOW for removing weeds? And, when was the
vegetable garden created?

use a hoe to cut the weeds off and DONT disturb the soil bringing weed seeds up to
the top. mulching with newspapers covered with marsh hay keeps a lot of weeds down.
anything germinates on top of that is easily pulled. Ingrid

wrote:

We have a large vegetable garden.

weeds eventually grow throughout the garden, and of course need to be
removed, which is a tedious job.

I don't know where the weeds come from, but they only grow in the
garden, and they grow fast.

If we built a greenhouse on half of the garden, will the weeds from
outside of the garden spread easily into the garden? would the weeding
job be easier? let's assume that once it is planted, the tools are only
used inside the greenhouse and there is little walking between the
greenhouse and the open areas.

in other words, will a screen protect the weeds from spreading? I
assume it is airborn somehow.

dave



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Zone 5 next to Lake Michigan

wrote:
We have a large vegetable garden.

weeds eventually grow throughout the garden, and of course need to be
removed, which is a tedious job.

which kind of weeds? dandelion? that is airborne. some variety of grass
will be stopped by a mowing strip, since they propagate by rhizome. A
number of them in my site are probably footborne (oxalis, the
chickweeds). And by foot I mean both mine and those of the many animals
that use my garden (birds and racoons for example). Clover typically
comes in with manure. Of course, if you have weeds in the paths, you
will never win the battle. In half my garden, I have crushed limestone
paths which are 100% weed free. Finally, in my case all purslane gets
eaten by humans, spring dandelions also, and late dandelions by my
daughter's guinea pigs. And don't forget the chickens. If you can let
the chickens into the fallow garden for two weeks a year, they will
clean up the seeds, the bugs, the shoots, the grubs, the moles, the
voles, anything alive.


I don't know where the weeds come from, but they only grow in the
garden, and they grow fast.

If we built a greenhouse on half of the garden, will the weeds from
outside of the garden spread easily into the garden? would the weeding
job be easier? let's assume that once it is planted, the tools are only
used inside the greenhouse and there is little walking between the
greenhouse and the open areas.

in other words, will a screen protect the weeds from spreading? I
assume it is airborn somehow.

you are better off mulching. Even small plants like carrots can be
mulched with some care (use grass clippings so as not to damage the
plants). Wood chips really stop weeds but not all vegetables tolerate
them. You have different mulching strategies for different veggies. I
use cardboard (or newspapers), chips, leaves and grass clippings.


dave

I get weeds coming up through an inch of gravel in the greenhouse, so I
think I'd go for mulching as a cheaper and probably more effective option.
I've often thought of extending the greenhouse across the garden to give
protection from the wretched fenland winds.


wrote in message
oups.com...
We have a large vegetable garden.

weeds eventually grow throughout the garden, and of course need to be
removed, which is a tedious job.

I don't know where the weeds co

On 13 Sep 2006 21:20:50 -0700, wrote:
in other words, will a screen protect the weeds from spreading? I
assume it is airborn somehow.

There are about 75 years worth of viable weed seed in any outdoor soil
that's been cultivated. A greenhouse will give you a different,
more heat tolerant selection of weeds compared to just the garden soil.
You might want to google the combination of the phrase "seed bank" with
the word weed.

Unless you're growing in sterilized soil, you're going to be weeding.
Clean mulch is your friend.

Kay

Kay Lancaster wrote:
On 13 Sep 2006 21:20:50 -0700, wrote:
in other words, will a screen protect the weeds from spreading? I
assume it is airborn somehow.

There are about 75 years worth of viable weed seed in any outdoor soil
that's been cultivated. A greenhouse will give you a different,
more heat tolerant selection of weeds compared to just the garden soil.
You might want to google the combination of the phrase "seed bank" with
the word weed.

Unless you're growing in sterilized soil, you're going to be weeding.
Clean mulch is your friend.

Kay

Best no-till advertisement I have ever seen.

Using a precise weeding hand tool like the Ergonica Weed Twister will
remove weedy eruptions without disturbing any more soil than necessary.
A conventional hoe blade, in contrast, is more likely to help the
germination of weed seeds that are exposed.

simy1 wrote:
Kay Lancaster wrote:
On 13 Sep 2006 21:20:50 -0700, wrote:
in other words, will a screen protect the weeds from spreading? I
assume it is airborn somehow.

There are about 75 years worth of viable weed seed in any outdoor soil
that's been cultivated. A greenhouse will give you a different,
more heat tolerant selection of weeds compared to just the garden soil.
You might want to google the combination of the phrase "seed bank" with
the word weed.

Unless you're growing in sterilized soil, you're going to be weeding.
Clean mulch is your friend.

Kay

Best no-till advertisement I have ever seen.

wrote:
We have a large vegetable garden.

weeds eventually grow throughout the garden, and of course need to be
removed, which is a tedious job.

I don't know where the weeds come from, but they only grow in the
garden, and they grow fast.


Worth mentioning to you ----- for years we purchased something called
Bandini from a "shall remain unnamed" hardware store. It worked
extremely well as a year-round fertilizer supplement, soil conditioner,
root protection from heat and moisture retention. I can no longer get
Bandini in the Phoenix area, perhaps it is not produced. I have
purchased 20-30 bags of the generic substitute twice. I have NEVER had
a weed problem, but now I can't stay ahead of two weeds I have never
seen before. In the future, I will purchase a 'trial' bag of new
products, spread it in a tray and attempt to sprout whatever might be
in it thereby allowing it to show itself.