OK, now how do I keep them from growing back?

[Sue_CT]

Yesterday I did this:





Now, 2 years ago i couldn’t do any yard work without oxygen. Last year i was hopeful and started seeds but then i got so sick my brother had to come over and plant the tomato plants. They were over taken by weeds because i was too sick to take care of the garden. Getting outside and getting this done, without oxygen, was an accomplishment. It felt so good! But how do I keep it this way now for the next month until planting time? I plan to buy my plants this year. If I put down plastic, would it also kill the worms and good micro organisms in the soil? I can’t really use organic matter because we believe it was the mold in the mulch last year that landed me in the hospital. I might be able to use new clean straw mulch after the plants go in but I can’t be digging around in the soil once the mulch starts to decompose a bit. It’s just too dangerous for me. What do you think?

[Vanman]

I use woven landscape fabric. It stops 99.99% of the weeds and lets water through. You have to burn or melt the ends and the holes for the plants or it will come apart. The cheap spun fabric from the big box stores does not work. I get it on Amazon. It comes in widths from 4 to 6 feet. The bad part is a roll is much more than you would ever need. What are the dimensions of your plot?

[Cole_Robbie]

I agree with van. The soil would be ok with a poly tarp or plastic, but the problem is that water pools on it when it rains, which can lead to mosquitoes.

[Dawn]

How about cardboard? You could hold it down with rocks or bricks, then cut holes to plant in. I don't think it would be particularly prone to molding, but if it did, it would be fairly stationary and you wouldn't be kicking it up like with mulch.

[crunch1224]

Because of your health problems, I suggest a container garden. There is nothing to really weed, and you can put it closer to the house so you dont have to walk as far if you have a sunny place near there.

[PlainJane]

I’d be inclined to put some edging around the circumference and use landscape fabric.

[bower]

Awesome to see you taking on the big job!!
Either cardboard or a good landscape fabric will stop weeds from coming back before you plant.. I've been thinking about this too for some major weed issues at my mother's place, but haven't made a decision yet.

If I were you I'd go ahead and put some cardboard boxes down asap to save your labor while you decide what to use after planting. Worms love paper or cardboard, incidentally. So that is a benefit as it breaks down. Rolls of kraft paper are also being sold for just that purpose. You do have to cover them with a bit of peat (something with no weed seeds that will afterwards break down). I saw one paper mulched garden covered in straw, it looked good.

The landscape fabric certainly works, but there is prep to do before you put it down - cutting holes and burning the edges to keep from unraveling - it's a nasty job for someone with lung issues. Yes it will last for years afterwards (if you get the best quality) but that first prep job is no fun. Well... it's a deterrent for me just because I hate the smell, LOL. But the size of the rolls is good to fuel the (crazy, wayward) ambition of even bigger gardens.

WRT the issue of mold, from the land of funk and dampness here the word is anything can get mold on it, in the right conditions. So you could end up with mold under cardboard or paper, but you could also end up with a layer of mold living on the underside of your plastic tarp/landscape fabric. If you have to take up the cover of either kind, you should mask up, and be sure to fold it as you remove it so that you don't shake out spores.

One benefit of using paper is that it can be completely consumed during the season and then left to decompose over the winter. One maker says to spread a layer of soil on top at the end of season to get it to decompose completely. This would mean you don't need to take it up ever, or deal with any sporey surfaces at all. And as a bonus, you get more happy worms.

On the heavier, easier to keep down, tear proof etc paper/card, there are some heavy duty paper products being marketed now which might last longer. Stuff like this:
https://weedguardplus.com/weedguard-org ... ght-rolls/
reviews here :
Just looking and seeing a ton of new products out there now, specifically for gardening. I guess they want to resist tearing, blowing away, not laying flat etc etc the problems so easy to imagine with a thinner ordinary paper product.

But no reason you can't also just get a roll of kraft paper or some used boxes and diy, especially the small space!

[CrazyAboutOrchids]

Landscape fabric will work but man, what an unfriendly item to remove afterward. Cardboard isn't as pretty, but will inhibit the weeds and is more enviro-friendly imo. Just need rocks, bricks or something to keep it down.

[Sue_CT]

The size is about 8 x 14’. Now that you mention it, I will check if I have any landscape fabric. I might have given it away, but it was good and heavy, from Costco. I wonder if I could some fray stop for fabric from a sewing store instead of burning? Problem with fabric is if you don’t like it, it’s pretty dirty and messy to take up. Figures I recently cleaned out the garage of cardboard boxes and recycled them, but I do have a few in the bin. If I used plastic I would take it up before planting. The edging is a good idea. Digging a trench for it might be a bit much but a hammer in edging if i could find one for a good price would be good. Only 2 sides need it since the other two sides are stone retaining walls. I have done some container gardening in the past and I may need to switch to that eventually but I did not get the results I have with the garden. Thank you for the suggestions!

[GoDawgs]

If you decide on cardboard and need some, check with a local liquor store. Those are the most sturdy cartons I've come across. Even the dividers inside them are useful because they're thick when collapsed.

Otherwise, most supermarket managers would be glad to get rid of their flattened boxes especially on days when they've received a big delivery and are stocking shelves. The one near me filled two shopping carts and even wheeled them out to my vehicle for me! The only drawback was a lot of very small cartons, like those that maybe held 12 cans or bottles of something. I just put those under larger pieces.

A friend of mine up north says that when asked, her local appliance store gives away those big boxes that reefers and freezers come in. I haven't gone that route yet but if you did, you'd need access to a pickup truck to haul them.

[bower]

I agree the edging is a great idea no matter what kind of cover you use. Grass just loves to grow back in. Edging always looks great too.

I don't think fray check would work on a plastic tarp but, glue is a possibility instead of burning: and there's tape too:
" HH-66 Vinyl Cement is designed to patch tears and holes in vinyl coated and vinyl laminated tarps with a waterproof, weather-resistant bond. This vinyl cement is fast setting and dries within two or three minutes."
"Tarp tape is an 18-ounce vinyl tape that’s coated with a strong adhesive that stands up to the weather. Tarp tape is also treated to be UV resistant to stand up to the sun’s intense rays. For the best bond, use tarp tape on the front and back of the tarp where there’s a rip or hole."
https://www.chicagocanvas.com/how-to-repair-a-tarp/
https://rhadhesives.com/application/tarps/

[Sue_CT]

Oh, I thought it was the landscape fabric that had to be burned. I would really like something that would break down over time. What about landscape fabric over cardboard? It is suppose to rain all weekend so probably have until early next week to decide what I am going to try. Could also do half and half and see what works best this year.

[slugworth]

get a tarp from joblot

[slugworth]

I got a gas powered edger to play with that can edge and has a trench function.
I was out there with that playing vs using a mantis that needs work on the carb.
The mantis I once got at a church rummage sale for $5 and it worked, so it doesn't owe me any money.

[slugworth]

BTW shoprite and walmart have their veggie plants already.

[rxkeith]

would wood chips be an option. hard wood chips would break down slowly.
so they last awhile. not sure about mold conditions in your area. we have used
wood chips for mulching, and i know people in the area that use them on garden paths.
they would be a better option than straw for sure. used to be able to get a load delivered
for 50 bucks, but some one i know said just last week that its 200 bucks now, so they will be
scrounging this year looking for other sources. check out tree trimming/cutting businesses.
they have to do something with the chips, either hauled away and dumped, and paying dumping
fees, they would rather deliver them for a reasonable fee.
i have not observed any big build up of mold using the wood chips, but with your lung condition i
can see you wanting to be cautious.


keith

[bower]

Oh, I thought it was the landscape fabric that had to be burned. I would really like something that would break down over time. What about landscape fabric over cardboard? It is suppose to rain all weekend so probably have until early next week to decide what I am going to try. Could also do half and half and see what works best this year.

There are so many kinds of landscape ground cover. The pro stuff which lasts 8+ years is heavy woven plastic (not PET which falls apart quickly) and that heavy one is the type that is commmonly burned to keep from fraying. So if it's something you already have on hand, figure out what kind of material it is before you make a plan.

If you want something to break down over time then go with cardboard or paper product.
You could put landscape fabric on top if you want to (not sure why? for looks or for the black color heating it may be worthwhile alright. IDK how that may affect the formation of mold on either the top surface of the cardboard or the underside of the fabric, but it's possible, that is if you left it all season.) wood chips sounds like a good choice. Peat is also cheap by the bale and neutral to mold with no weed seeds.
If you're going to let it break down over time, you don't need to take up the mulch? You could leave it down then and not worry about disturbing a bunch of spores.

Our Home Depot has 140 ft roll of heavy recycled kraft paper 3 ft wide for around $20. they say it can be used to suppress weeds so it sounds pretty tough. I might try layering that, just because a roll can be laid out so neatly. Not as thick as a box though. There is something called 'single faced corrugated' also sold in rolls of many widths, which looks ideal but $$$ more costly.

Oh and there's 'water activated' paper tape which, afaict, forms a permanent bond and so won't release when it gets wet again. that could help for putting boxes together to make one surface. But $$.

[Sue_CT]

Ok, the landscape fabric over cardboard was mostly for looks, the garden is near the road and I like thinks to look nice. I also thought it would help getting the fabric up if i didn’t like it but you are probably right about the mold. I plan to get fresh heat treated straw to put down once the plants are in, but I can’t disturb it once it has been down for while bec it does to get mold underneath when it starts to break down. I think the cardboard should work until then an then I can just put the straw on top of the cardboard.