There are a million ways to garden, and no matter who you ask, they all have different opinions. For a few years now, the big push is on "no till", or lasagna gardening. We decided to give it a try this year, and see how we did. I was very hopeful that it would keep the weeds, particularly the crabgrass, in check.
After reading many websites, and watching "Back to Eden", I was excited! We spent a month or better taking trips into town, to collect trash bags of leaves that people put out by the curb. We mowed the garden area to the ground, and let it sit for a day or two to let that dry out, then began adding the leaves. 18" thick in most spots.
Here's the problem with that plan.....crabgrass. You will say, "well you didn't lay down cardboard first". I did that in the rose bed, and the crabgrass found it's way through it and around it anyway. I figured if nothing else, this amount of leaves would block the sun, helping to keep it in check, as well as adding much needed nutrients and mulch to the clay soil we have on most of the property.
Crabgrass reproduces by millions of seeds just under the first few inches of soil, and the gazillion roots that shoot off in every direction. If you think I exaggerate, feel free to come help me weed, or do a Google search on crabgrass. It is an evil weed, that I never expect to get rid of, but will hopefully control.
After all the work to build that main garden last fall and work it into nice neat rows in the spring, planting, and nurturing, this is the end result:
Here's the problem with that plan.....crabgrass. You will say, "well you didn't lay down cardboard first". I did that in the rose bed, and the crabgrass found it's way through it and around it anyway. I figured if nothing else, this amount of leaves would block the sun, helping to keep it in check, as well as adding much needed nutrients and mulch to the clay soil we have on most of the property.
Crabgrass reproduces by millions of seeds just under the first few inches of soil, and the gazillion roots that shoot off in every direction. If you think I exaggerate, feel free to come help me weed, or do a Google search on crabgrass. It is an evil weed, that I never expect to get rid of, but will hopefully control.
After all the work to build that main garden last fall and work it into nice neat rows in the spring, planting, and nurturing, this is the end result:
Despite my best efforts early on, due to the deep mulch, I couldn't keep the crabgrass under control. I even got desperate and broke out the weed wacker for the walk ways. Crabgrass chokes out other plants, and sucks up all the water and nutrients in the soil. The other downfall of the deep mulch method? Bugs. Our corn was doing amazing, the best we had ever had. Then the bugs took over. The deep mulch was the perfect hiding place for them. I used DE, even broke down and put Seven on it (don't lecture me, you have your methods, I have mine). Nothing worked. The other bug that I cannot tolerate at all, and we have everywhere, and love things like deep mulch.....fire ants. Mounds and mounds of them. I got bit 10 times on one hand the other day just pulling a corn stalk to give the goats. I couldn't see the mound for all the mulch.
So, we are going back to a method that, while it won't keep the crabgrass away completely, will allow me to keep it in check much better.
So, we are going back to a method that, while it won't keep the crabgrass away completely, will allow me to keep it in check much better.
This is one of the new market garden beds we set up. We did the stale seedbed method first, then tilled and pulled as much of the dead crabgrass as we could out. We made our rows, added compost and planted. The walkways are a bit wide in this bed, because we want to have plenty of room for those peppers and transplanted tomatoes to fill out. Normally the walking path will only be a foot wide. Having the bed bare, allows me to see what is happening. We spent two days this week, hand weeding the rows where the plants are, and running the tiller lightly over the walking paths. By doing the tiller, it cuts off any crabgrass we see sprouting. It won't kill it, there are too many roots under the surface to contend with, but it keeps it in check.
The key to all of this is that I can SEE what is happening. Crabgrass loves heat, so it's at it's worst in July for us, but it's a year round battle. It's more work to do the garden this way, but the key to keeping plants productive for me is keeping that evil stuff in check. And I can't do that if I can't see it or get to it.
One of the major things you need to remember when homesteading, what works for one person, won't necessarily work for you. Like most things, there are self proclaimed "experts" out there, who will tell you that you can only do something one way. Not true. It's fine to experiment, how else will you learn what works or doesn't work for your land, your level of experience, etc? Just be flexible. Know that it's ok to change the way you do things. And have fun! It's hard work, but at the end of the day, it's so worth it.
The key to all of this is that I can SEE what is happening. Crabgrass loves heat, so it's at it's worst in July for us, but it's a year round battle. It's more work to do the garden this way, but the key to keeping plants productive for me is keeping that evil stuff in check. And I can't do that if I can't see it or get to it.
One of the major things you need to remember when homesteading, what works for one person, won't necessarily work for you. Like most things, there are self proclaimed "experts" out there, who will tell you that you can only do something one way. Not true. It's fine to experiment, how else will you learn what works or doesn't work for your land, your level of experience, etc? Just be flexible. Know that it's ok to change the way you do things. And have fun! It's hard work, but at the end of the day, it's so worth it.