new to gardiening

[claire]

hi how do i keep the weeds from growing back in my garden

[Vox Humana]

You can use Preen to stop weed seeds from germinating. Applying a layer of much will also help.

[Cereus-validus]

Through the miracle of modern science there is this stuff called weed killer.

Still, some old times prefer to get down and dirty and pull them out manually.

The choice is yours.

[Lisa Hurley]

Well done, Cereus-validus! For you, that was practically a civilized answer. :-)

[Cereus-validus]

I even had my pinkies up in the air when I typed it!!!

It made shifting tricky to do!!!

[dps]

Surely, nobody would accuse you of being shifty?

[dps]

Short answer: you don't. They will grow in spite of all you do. The only thing you can do is to kill them when they show (or even before).

There's a thing called a hoe. It is effective in killing small to moderate sized weeds. Operated clumsily, it is also effective in killing crops. It takes some practice to get the hang of it. Since you're new to gardening and don't have the regular hoe skills, I would suggest that instead of getting a regular hoe, you get a collinear hoe. With a regular hoe you bend over and chop at the weeds with the blade. With a collinear hoe (so-called because the cutting edge is in line with the axis of the handle), you don't chop, you sweep like you were using a broom. This allows you to stand upright instead of bending over and really saves your back. The drawback of the collinear hoe is that it doesn't handle large weeds well (more than about 2" high).

Note that there are weeds growing in your garden several days before you see them. Take a handful of garden soil that has been undisturbed for a week to 10 days and stir it. Assuming that it has moisture and the soil temperature is moderately warm, you will probably see little white threads in the soil. Those are weed roots which form long before the leaves emerge. One of the most effective ways to keep your weeds (and effort) down is to kill the weeds when they are very small. I would recommend running the hoe down beside the row of plants weekly, whether or not you see any weeds. You don't have to work hard at it, just hold the hoe blade 1/2 inch below the surface and walk along next to your plants. It takes some practice to get close to the plants without cutting them off, but it can be done. If you keep at it regularly, the amount of work is not large, but if you let them grow, the amount of work required increases quickly.

If your garden gets larger you might consider a wheel hoe, which is a wheel on a handle with a hoe behind it. It's easier to use for long rows, but more difficult to get into irregular spaces with. It also costs much more than the hand hoe. A good wheel hoe is on the order of $200, a collinear hoe is around $30 (your back is worth it) and the old style backbreaker hoe can probably be found for $5. There are other types of hoes that other people swear by and one of them might fit your style better. Ask your neighbors what they use and try them out.

Weed killers can be used, but you have to have some experience with them, since they can damage crops as well as weeds (of course one way to acquire experience is by making mistakes). Weed killers come in many different flavors: grasses, broadleaf weeds, kill-everything stuff, etc. Overuse of weedkillers can affect the groundwater (which is the source of most of the water you drink, whether or not you have your own well). Overuse of a hoe will lead to sore muscles, but they are a renewable resource. Hoeing gets you out into the sunshine (wear sunblock) and fresh (hopefully) air. Hoeing gives you a better appreciation of nature and plant competition, and the vegetables you put some work into will taste much better, the flowers will look much brighter. (That's called marketing).

I have no interest in any company that sells or manufactures hoes.

[Cereus-validus]

You got that right.

I could never be a politician because I might slip up and do something stupid like tell the truth!!

What in the heck is gardiening anyway? Sounds like something French and illegal!

[Vox Humana]

. Since you're new to

Too funny!

[claire]

[Gardñ]

"claire" in news:yOaqc.118556$hR1.68355 @fe2.texas.rr.com:

try different methods for different weeds in different situatoins. observe.

don't spend much time weeding. i let certain plants smother other plants. i hand pull the easier weeds before they seed. i also use a shovel or just pull out small trees and bushes. and i use roundup in difficult to maintain areas such as gravel edges. (most are usually difficult to maintain due to politics, rather than horticultural causes)