Weeds and lime

[Ninjasquirrel]

Trying to take down my garden to prep it for next year. Lots of weeds have built up so its rather tedious. My father suggested I put lime down and just till it all up. My fiancee isnt too keen on that saying thats not "organic". Any advice?

 

[Hei 20]

Try vinegar

 

[Ninjasquirrel]

Try vinegar

I've tried it. And boiling water. And plastic tarps. Next year I'm covering the whole thing in mulch in the spring. Vinegar and boiling water are great for a small area of weeds but not a large area. My biggest issue I'm having is no one gives you the advice you need to garden properly. My garden is 30 x 30 or so imagine 30 x 30 of nothing but weeds. Then tell me to try vinegar...

 

[Acre4Me]

Any pics?

I have a 20x30 bed along with raised beds. I can't imagine pouring vinegar or boiling water on a 30x30!

This past year, we decided to try using the greenhouse effect to our benefit. We harvested some spring crops, cleaned the bed more or less, then applied clear plastic around late June/early July. This created a greenhouse effect, raising the interior temps where it will destroy weeds, seeds, and larvae. So we learned that having the plastic raised up a bit would be a little more helpful, rather than just laying on the dirt. Also, having the plastic a bit longer on the sides (these were on raised beds) would have been helpful. We did staple down the plastic, but wind picked up a couple of corners and the weeds at those corners tolerated the heat and grew happily. Elsewhere in the bed, it definitely baked the soil. We left it on for about 4-6 weeks and then planted cover crops for the fall/winter. So next year, we will likely do the same, but make a few minor changes. Its pretty cheap to buy a roll of clear plastic at any big box store, and they come in a variety of widths and lengths. Why not black plastic? Bc it won't give the greenhouse effect, but it will block light, and it will get hot and it will work to destroy weeds. In NW IN you won't get much effect with this method now.


Another tactic is to till the soil. Wait for sprouting, and till again. Do this a few times in the spring, and many seeds will have sprouted but get destroyed or buried with the tiller.

Pulling weeds by hand - it works, but clearly tedious with a large bed.

 

[Ninjasquirrel]

Any pics?

I have a 20x30 bed along with raised beds. I can't imagine pouring vinegar or boiling water on a 30x30!

This past year, we decided to try using the greenhouse effect to our benefit. We harvested some spring crops, cleaned the bed more or less, then applied clear plastic around late June/early July. This created a greenhouse effect, raising the interior temps where it will destroy weeds, seeds, and larvae. So we learned that having the plastic raised up a bit would be a little more helpful, rather than just laying on the dirt. Also, having the plastic a bit longer on the sides (these were on raised beds) would have been helpful. We did staple down the plastic, but wind picked up a couple of corners and the weeds at those corners tolerated the heat and grew happily. Elsewhere in the bed, it definitely baked the soil. We left it on for about 4-6 weeks and then planted cover crops for the fall/winter. So next year, we will likely do the same, but make a few minor changes. Its pretty cheap to buy a roll of clear plastic at any big box store, and they come in a variety of widths and lengths. Why not black plastic? Bc it won't give the greenhouse effect, but it will block light, and it will get hot and it will work to destroy weeds. In NW IN you won't get much effect with this method now.


Another tactic is to till the soil. Wait for sprouting, and till again. Do this a few times in the spring, and many seeds will have sprouted but get destroyed or buried with the tiller.

Pulling weeds by hand - it works, but clearly tedious with a large bed.

Exactly. Its too late for the greenhouse effect. I went out and pulled as much as I could. Spent a good 4 hours 2 days in a row. I still dont have it all up. I thought about bringing the mower in there and cutting up some of the longer weeds so they wont get stuck in the tiller. I think we have a soil imbalance which is why we get so many weeds. Our potash has been high every year. Ph is around 7 so just about perfect but low nitrogen. Ive been using fertilizer every year. This year was by far the best for our crops but the weeds always get ahead of us; mostly because I'm the only one doing it. I figured if I added some lime it might raise the nitrogen levels in addition to breaking down the weeds. Is lime organic or no?

 

[Acre4Me]

Exactly. Its too late for the greenhouse effect. I went out and pulled as much as I could. Spent a good 4 hours 2 days in a row. I still dont have it all up. I thought about bringing the mower in there and cutting up some of the longer weeds so they wont get stuck in the tiller. I think we have a soil imbalance which is why we get so many weeds. Our potash has been high every year. Ph is around 7 so just about perfect but low nitrogen. Ive been using fertilizer every year. This year was by far the best for our crops but the weeds always get ahead of us; mostly because I'm the only one doing it. I figured if I added some lime it might raise the nitrogen levels in addition to breaking down the weeds. Is lime organic or no?

it is a natural product, yes.
It will raise the PH of the soil, so that isn't something you need to do with a pH of 7. Ideal pH is around 6.5. So, adding fallen leaves onto the garden will be good and will help lower the pH a little bit. Lime is best applied in the fall when it is applied.

There are two kinds of Lime for the garden:

Calcium Carbonate Lime ("garden lime" or "agricultural lime") will raise pH and adds calcium.

Dolomitic Lime. will raise pH and add calcium and magnesium.


Have you had a soil test done on your garden plot?

 

[Ninjasquirrel]

it is a natural product, yes.
It will raise the PH of the soil, so that isn't something you need to do with a pH of 7. Ideal pH is around 6.5. So, adding fallen leaves onto the garden will be good and will help lower the pH a little bit. Lime is best applied in the fall when it is applied.

There are two kinds of Lime for the garden:

Calcium Carbonate Lime ("garden lime" or "agricultural lime") will raise pH and adds calcium.

Dolomitic Lime. will raise pH and add calcium and magnesium.


Have you had a soil test done on your garden plot?

The only test ive done is the store bought kind so it doesnt tell you much. Id like to take it somewhere for a more accurate test but not sure where or how much that would cost. We add leaves every year but mostly by accident. We live on a very wooded lot

 

[chickengr]

I let my chickens take care of weeds. they do the best job.

 

[Liz Birdlover]

Any pics?

I have a 20x30 bed along with raised beds. I can't imagine pouring vinegar or boiling water on a 30x30!

This past year, we decided to try using the greenhouse effect to our benefit. We harvested some spring crops, cleaned the bed more or less, then applied clear plastic around late June/early July. This created a greenhouse effect, raising the interior temps where it will destroy weeds, seeds, and larvae. So we learned that having the plastic raised up a bit would be a little more helpful, rather than just laying on the dirt. Also, having the plastic a bit longer on the sides (these were on raised beds) would have been helpful. We did staple down the plastic, but wind picked up a couple of corners and the weeds at those corners tolerated the heat and grew happily. Elsewhere in the bed, it definitely baked the soil. We left it on for about 4-6 weeks and then planted cover crops for the fall/winter. So next year, we will likely do the same, but make a few minor changes. Its pretty cheap to buy a roll of clear plastic at any big box store, and they come in a variety of widths and lengths. Why not black plastic? Bc it won't give the greenhouse effect, but it will block light, and it will get hot and it will work to destroy weeds. In NW IN you won't get much effect with this method now.


Another tactic is to till the soil. Wait for sprouting, and till again. Do this a few times in the spring, and many seeds will have sprouted but get destroyed or buried with the tiller.

Pulling weeds by hand - it works, but clearly tedious with a large bed.

I've used the plastic method as well. Tilling over & over alone does not kill all weeds, still had Bermuda grass, Johnson grass, Nutsedge & a few others, but the plastic for 6-8 weeks & tilling aftwards, then a cover crop worked best.

I also have a lot of gravel driveway full of weeds, someone said add salt and dish detergent to vinegar as that kills anything supposedly (never try salt where you intend to grow anything) but salt, soap & vinegar really didn't get the job done, so plastic tarp, then metal rake the dead weeds up easily.

 

[Liz Birdlover]

I let my chickens take care of weeds. they do the best job.

They ignore nutsedge though & some weeds are dangerous to ingest, Johnson grass is bad.