Weed supression in 15 minutes or less

We've had just about two straight weeks of rain here, but I'm not complaining. For one, we need to fill up Lake Michigan which hit its all-time historical low water mark this winter and for another it could be so much worse. North Dakota got so much snow earlier this week that the federal government gave residents of the state an extension on filing their taxes!

But the sun shone yesterday and I was thrilled to have a little bit of time after work to do a very quick project outside. Other than the raised vegetable gardens, all of the gardening I've done is on the house side of the small creek that runs through our property so right now the area just on the other side of the creek is a bit ratty. I've done exactly nothing to that area and I don't have plans to do anything anytime soon. I could see myself transplanting some woodland plants or ferns when I have extras to spare, but it will be awhile before that happens.

But I'm sick of the weedy mess over there, so in approximately 15 minutes, I did what I think is the easiest way to reclaim a weedy area. This is also my favorite way to start a new garden bed, but it works equally well to just spruce up an area too.

In this case I just used some of the cardboard boxes we had laying around, flattened them and covered them up with mulch. I didn't have enough cardboard to cover the whole area, so as I get more I'll add it to fill in those spaces. Normally I would follow up with a good dousing of water with the hose to keep things from blowing around (you could also use a few rocks if you were doing it in a particularly windy area), but I knew we were due to get a deluge over the next couple days so I let Mother Nature handle that part.

I have also used this method with newsprint (or newspaper). I usually layer the newspaper quite thickly, maybe with six or seven layers and if there is any wind at all using newspaper can get frustrating quickly. That's why I prefer to use newsprint end rolls. This is what is left on the end of a giant roll of newsprint when they print newspapers. If you have a newspaper printing operation nearby call and ask if they have end rolls: most give them away for free because otherwise they have to pay to recycle them. I run the roll back and forth until I have the number of layers I want in a section that is about 15 or 20 feet long (or less if you're working with a smaller space) and then lay it down in one big section. I prefer to use the newspaper or newsprint method for beds I plan to plant in within a year because it breaks down more quickly than cardboard. For areas where you're just trying to keep the weeds at bay, the cardboard does a pretty good job.

It doesn't look like much yet, but in a few weeks the mulch won't look so new and it will be nice not to look at a pile of weeds when we walk across the little bridge across the creek.

In other news, I was just thinking the other day that it's time to start brainstorming ideas for this summer's containers, and then I chided myself for even thinking that when I still have the containers "planted" for winter.

I took these two shots this morning when I left for work. The bad news is that there is still some snow left. The good news is that not too long ago that stake was buried.

In my defense, there is still snow in my yard so I think I get a pass. Maybe.

The real reason newspapers will never die

I love the most recent post from Michael Tortorello's New York Times blog. I've been following Michael's misadventures of a new gardener with his first vegetable garden with interest (and frankly, a little bit of jealousy. Is the NYT paying him for this? How come I didn't think to pitch that idea?)

He's talking about using newspaper to block weeds, of course, which is something a lot of gardeners figured out a long time ago. I've been doing it for three or four years now when I start a new bed (aka lasagna gardening ... sort of, in my case). I'm a fan because I think it works and it's a hell of a lot better than poisoning the world with a case of Round-up. But Michael makes a great point and it's one that's near and dear to my heart: what are you going to use to keep your weeds in check when newspapers are gone? Organic Gardening magazine addressed this in the letters column of their most recent issue by suggesting using paper grocery bags or kraft paper. First of all, haven't we all given up on grocery bags? I suggest everyone go out and buy a bunch of Baggu bags and keep them in your car or purse. On the rare occasion that you forget your Baggus, just get plastic and use it to pick up dog poop, or store your wet swimming suit in when you come home from vacation. Well, whatever, I'm not going to get all preachy about grocery bags, but I don't mind getting preachy about newspapers. So subscribe, then use 'em in your garden!

Oh, and here's a tip on the newspaper thing: You know when you're doin' some lasagna gardening and it gets to be a huge pain to unfold all those papers and then they start flying all over the place? Call up your local newspaper and ask them if they have end rolls. Since I work for a company that also publishes a newspaper I have access to all the end rolls I can use (end rolls are small rolls of paper left at the end of a roll after printing. They don't want to run out on a print job mid-roll so they stop before the end and start a new roll). I roll them out in about 20-foot lengths and double back and forth to create about nine layers of newsprint. Then I roll them up, carry them to where they need to be, unroll them, wet them down right away with the hose and move on. Works like a charm!