pre-emergent question

a few layers of craft paper or plain cardboard and mulch on top. if needed it can be redone after a season by scraping back the mulch and then reapplying the cardboard or paper and then moving the mulch back.

the nice thing about using organic mulch and smothering layers when it breaks down it creates humus that can also be used on a garden.

the downsides are that sometimes mice or voles may like to nest under the paper or cardboard but if you make the ground flat and make sure the edges are not open to easy access then the critters won't likely use it.

songbird

This is for my zeroscape rocks and I don't want poisons running off into my garden.

This looks good (certified organic hydrolyzed corn gluten):

-T

T wrote: ...

if i can do it by hand i will. i don't use sprays.

do you get a lot of dirt/sand blown on the wind?

it may be hard to keep a rock garden in a place that gets a lot of wind.

you can always try it and do controlled experiments to see if it makes any difference.

songbird

Yes, a lot of wind and dust storms.

I have so many weeds that is beyond my control. I have "amber waves" of cheat grass.

for that you'll need a way to trap the dust and wind blown seeds and get them down into a shaded area where they won't germinate. not that it would be 100% effective but it would reduce the weed burden. one design for a weed free pathway i have in mind means a lot of work and probably has flaws i've not considered but to put down a trench and then to line it with thick mil plastic or even aluminum sheeting (if you have a lot of digging critters like moles, chipmunks, etc. about) and then build a pathway about half a foot above it using a metal screen so that any dirt and weed seeds can fall through. set it up so that it drains to a few spots that can be cleaned out once a year or so. a good rinse with a hose or a heavy rain should work. some seeds will still be trapped in the rock mulch above the pathway but it will reduce the problem. an entire rain and rock garden could be set up and then if you filter the water to remove any weed seeds and dirt then the water could be used on a garden. etc. no, i've not done anything like it here yet, but i have some areas that are pretty weed free just because they have deep rinsed crushed limestone mulch and the only weeds that grow in those spots are the large seeded ones that were grown on a nearby fence. morning glories... ugh... almost ten years later we still have some sprouting and growing.

another approach would be to design the place to funnel the wind and thus any dust and weed seeds to go into certain areas and not places where they'll be able to grow.

just ideas to kick around... be glad you don't have tumble weeds.

songbird

I do have tumble weeds: about a 10,000 to 1 ratio with cheat grass. Very cute when they are little. Also very easy to pull when they are little.