Most likely, you got your weeds from the garden soil. Mel tells you to use Mel's Mix in the new book, which as you know consists of 1/3 peat, 1/3 vermiculite, and 1/3 compost. With those ingredients, you should pretty much be weed free.

Even with the mix, weed seeds can still be blown into your garden or transported by many other means, but it shouldn't take you more than 10 minutes to weed the entire garden once a week. I've never had a weed yet this season and it's been almost 2 months.

Also, what did you put under the box? Did you put landscape fabric or newspaper down before you filled it? If you didn't, that could be a problem as well.

Just pick the weeds out. After a few really good weeding sessions, you should get 95% or more of them out and only have to weed once a week for the rest of the season.

Oops, I forgot to tell you that your link to the picture doesn't work.

Were your manures bagged product or from the "farm" ? I added some fairly fresh horse manure to the top of a couple beds last fall and they are much weedier than last year (when I used very very aged manure). I still don't have a terrible number of weeds, but more than I had. I would guess if they are all the same weed, manure could be the source.

I think once you get past this crop of weeds, it won't be bad. When your plants are big, there's not much light for weeds. You may also want to use some mulch (shredded leaves for example)

Thanks you two, I really appreciate your help.

I was unable to find the vermiculite stated in Mel's book, as I live in a very small town and our two stores:) did not carry it, or were out. Unfortunately the employees didn't even know what I was talking about. I guess that's the price we pay:)

So, first ??: my beds are 4 inches of gravel, layer of landscape cloth; 4 inches of topsoil from neighboring farmer (Idaho Potato Fields); then 4 inches of mixed store bought chicken and steer manure; peat and the garden mix.

My compost is not done yet, and it is the first time I have even attempted composting, so I am a little nervous.

I really hope you are right and it is just a few here and there. I wasn't especially worried until yesterday when I had so many in the morning that had popped up.

Thanks a ton, it helps to have an idea about what may be happening. Please let me know what you think of my soil mixture; you can be honest-I can take it:0)

g

Here is a link that might be useful: Try again on picture-lettuce with weed on it's left

How frustrating that must be!

Yes, from everything I have read about SFG and the examples I have seen, weeds are almost non-existent. I am sure this depends on the mix. If there are weed seeds in the items added to the mix, they are going to sprout.

All is not lost though. The best thing you can do now is pull the weeds as you see them and not let them reseed in your SFG. Eventually they will go away except for the ones that may be brought to the surface or blow in with the wind.

Here is a link that might be useful: GrafixMuse's Garden Spot

Weed seeds can be introduced in many ways, and most common would be airborne. But, the 4" of topsoil from the neighboring farmer would be a really likely culprit too, in my opinion. Hopefully, the numbers will decline as they are removed.

EG

Thanks Everyone!!!

I appreciate your help and look forward to hearing how all the gardens do this year:)

g

I've had a big problem with weeds this year too. I used some of my homemade compost and I'm guessing that it didn't get hot enough to kill any seed that may have been in it. So now I've got grass popping up all over. However, with the SFG method it is much easier to pull those weeds since the soil is nice and loose!

I have an ongoing battle with bindweed.Farmers hate it. It twines around the corn and wraps around my pepper plants. I just get out there and pull it every spring and continue the job all summer long.I may have picked up the seed from some hay that I used to mulch with.Persistence is a virtue.

I used peat moss and good compost which was store bought so I also have very few weeds. Trying to follow the book, I wanted to start my own compost bin so I got a truck load of three year old cow manure from a farmer nearby. I put the compost bin together and added a little of the manure to my flower beds because he said it wasn't new enough to burn my plants however the weeds started taking over almost over night. Good luck with your sfg. I love mine and look forward to going out each morning to look at it. I pulled weeds for the first time today. My garden has been in about six weeks.

This is just one more reason I always try to distinguish between Mel's Mix and "My Mix". Mel boast a weed free garden bc he is suggesting people purchase his sterilized (weed free) mix.

I am not opposed to making your own stuff. In fact, that is what gardening is all about. I don't use Mel's Mix myself, but then I do NOT call My Mix - Mel's Mix either.

Weeds are a part of gardening. NOTHING is going to be weed free. Seeds will be delivered by wind, birds, some compost, etc. The beauty of a friable soil, and a small area is that the weeds can be easily removed!

Personnally, when I have a LOT of baby weeds, I use a hand cultivator. I pick the weeds up that are now lying on the surface. I come back to hand pick any that manage to reroot themselves the next day or two. No big deal. The hand cultivator and a friable mix are a perfect compliment to each other. You can "weed" baby weeds out of a 4'x4' box in about 10 minutes or less. Come back for a minute or two the next few days and you've spent about 15 minutes "weeding" a 4'x4' box over the course of the week, and have no weeds.

I am glad to hear I am not the only one with these little lovelies!! I did go through and weed them all out yesterday and it was very easy and quick. So, I won't complain too much.

I am trying a different kind of garden soil on the next bed I am finishing. We'll see if that helps or hinders. I did find a blown-in dandelion sitting in one bed yesterday. We have had a lot of wind, so I expect that is my culprit.

Thanks for all the input, I am looking forward to a fun summer of gardening and pulling those little devil weeds!

See below, I have added a picture of my new garden - I love it!!! I can't wait to finish it. The curbed in place to the left will be for my corn and pumpkins, we grow lots of pumpkins!!

Can someone help me out on this adding a picture thing: I don't think it is working for me:( Can anyone see the picture?

Happy Gardening All,

g

Here is a link that might be useful: My New Garden

gabby,
Upload your photos to Picasa or Photobucket or similar online photo spot. On Picasa (I haven't used the others), to the right of the photo, click where it says to link to the photo. To add as a link, copy the first one and paste in the link spot on GW. To embed the photo, copy the 2nd one and paste into your text. When you preview your post, the embedded photos should show up.

One of the nice things about SFG is the soil is so loose. just grab and pull the weeds as fast as you can. They come out roots and all very easily. Once the garden really gets going the tight planting should crowd and shade out most of the weeds that come up later. Again they pull up very easily. I worked my composts and peat into the underlying soil and also have a maple that drops seeds everywhere. I just spend 5 minutes weeding every day. It's easy fast and I get a close up look at all my plants while I'm doing it. Even the zoysia that made it into the bed from the tilling is easy to remove.

Okay, that was interesting. Here is my garden, a work in progress, obviously.....

gabby, your boxes look great! I especially like the shape of the ones in the corner. It makes me want to re-do mine :)

I know, my wonderful husband did those. It was kind of a surprise. I knew he was going to do my boxes, but not that he would be so creative. I just love them. I can't wait until they are all done and I can grow, grow, grow:)

Thanks, I am glad you like them!!!

g

Yeah I am getting weeds from the "propeller" seeds from a tree. There are gobs and gobs of them and they frustrate the poop outta me. I do have to pull those and there are some I am not sure if it is spinach or tree weeds (the spinach is really pitiful and just cant bring myself to pull it and restart the squares with something else).