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Square Foot Gardening

Help controlling weeds between beds

17 years ago

I'm trying to set up some sort of permanent or semi-permanent paths between my raised beds. The beds are 4'x10'in shape and there are 4 of them arranged in a square with several feet in between each bed. They are situated in a field which has been filled with nothing but weeds for years so we have quite a problem with weeds. Basically, we'd like to make a sort of barrier around the perimeter of the whole space of beds and then paths between each bed that aren't just dirt or mulch. We've tried weed-cloth and mulch but the weeds (mostly grass and goat weed) still manage to fight their way through. We have neither a lot of time nor a lot of money but could spend some initial investment of time if it kept the weeds from taking over by the end of each season (we do try to weed regularily but it gets out of control almost overnight!). We won't use chemicals to control the weeds.

We've thought about pouring concrete or using rubber mulch or planting grass to keep mowed (at least it would keep the goat weed down) or using a combination of large stepping stones and mulch but nothing seems right. We live in Central Texas so heat and watering are also factors.

Any help would be greatly appreciated as we now have to start the weeding over from scratch and it doesn't make much sense to have to weed like this every year - we just can't control them.

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Comments (8)

rustycage
17 years ago
The landscape fabric and mulch works for me here in West Virginia. Maybe you could try the heavier commercial grade fabric that I saw at Lowes? I use about 4 inches of shredded pine bark mulch around my beds on the economy landscape fabric. I get an occasional weed that germinates when the conditions are right in my mulch, but those pull out very easily.

Here is a link that might be useful: This link is to a thread with photos of my SFG bed.
jimla
17 years ago
I use old scrap carpeting covered with wood chips between my raised beds. Both are free from the carpet store dumpster and local municipal yard waste facility. Much heavier than the commercial weed block, it stays put and has been very effective weed controller.
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Comments (18)
I despise landscape fabric - as was mentioned roots get tangle in it then tear the fabric when you remove the weeds. To make things worse the fabric never decomposes and you will find pieces there for the rest of your life. Cardboard or newspaper will feed the soil once they have done their job. At first blush getting wood chips from tree trimmers sounds like a winner but keep in mind what you will get free of charge is ants, termites, or other native pests along with poison ivy, bitter sweet, bindweed, or any other invasives. Me thinks making your own wood chips or buying the bagged stuff wood (pun) bee better. But the chips need to be aged before use too. Salt hay for the beds is helpful. I like to use leaves - (shredded or not) tho the shredded don't blow away as easily. Growing grass (or weeds) between the beds is just growing competiton for water and nutrients your plants will want. It sounded like the OP was looking for something more permanent - like cement ;-)
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Kimmsr's suggestion will probably be the most successful because it is non-selective and will pretty well stop everything that is trying to grow that you have covered. The product I think you are looking for is called Preen. You apply it to the soil and it kills many broadleaf and grass weeds when they germinate. It will not stop perennial weeds already established, such as quackgrass, and it does not harm some annual weeds, so they will grow right through it. It does not harm established perennial flowers/landscape plants you may have, but may kill any annuals you plant as seeds into treated soil unless they are of a plant family that is tolerant of the herbicide. You could use it with mulch as added insurance.
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I have several raised veggie beds without weed barriers and they do get some weeds but its usually on the very top, not coming from the bottom. So I don't think weed cloth would really work. Its up to you but I don't think its worth the money or time. In the future if you want to turn those beds down deep it could be an issue. My beds are 8'x4'x2' Instead of weed barrier I would spend the money on some kind of watering system or you will be out there with the hose constantly and that gets old fast. Camp Verde AZ
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It appears to be Aegopodium podagraria. Edited to add - Removing this plague by digging is difficult since the roots go sideways and then dive. If it gets broken underground it comes back with a vengeance. You could try piling a thick layer of mulch or earth over it (5" at least) but that could be costly and impractical. There is some evidence that if you cut the leaves off repeatedly whenever they come up you can starve it out. Do not let it flower/seed. Good luck.
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gumby_ct
17 years ago
I started using the extra shingles the roofers left behind. NOTHING has grown thru them yet. Something may creep over the top but that gives me time to get to it BEFORE it gets into the beds. When I see another area, I pick a few up and move them over the top of the new area. Overlapping them helps alot.

My pathways in between beds are pretty well under control using leaves, leaves, and more leaves, each year. The weeds that do sprout are easily removed. Pine needles last longer but I have put down leaves every fall for quite a few years now. The leaves seem to attract lots of earthworms and keep some moisture in.

The roots of the weeds just seem to grow INTO the landscape fabric making them even harder to remove, so I stopped using that stuff.

Hope that helps,
Gumby_CT
farmarama
Original Author
17 years ago
Yes, I've noticed that the weed cloth isn't doing a bit of good and is only making it harder to pull up the weeds. I think we'll try the carpet next year or maybe this fall. We don't actually rake leaves but I suppose we could try to do such a thing this year and maybe some combination of those things would work.

Thanks for your input everyone!
gumby_ct
17 years ago
Not having enuff trees, I put a sign out front -
"Leaves Wanted". Seems to help.
dgkritch
17 years ago
I put down cardboard and/or thick layers of newspaper, then cover with redwood shavings (I have access to them for free). It does a great job keeping the weeds down. Now it the moles would just figure out that THEY aren't supposed to make bumps under it!
junegem13
17 years ago
I did a layer of cardboard, overlapping edges, topped by shredded tree limb debris free from the recycling center. I've had a few poke through, but they were actually pretty easy to pull-up.. I think they be at areas where I overlapped the cardboard and it slid some when I put down the mulch.

Good luck! and Happy gardening!
Becky
justaguy2
17 years ago
I just planted grass. Yes, it needs to be mowed, but so does the rest of the lawn.

In year one it was necessary to use an herbicide to get the weeds in the grass under control, but thereafter a weed hound or hand pulling when the soil is wet and soft is all that is necessary. The grass does a decent job of keeping the weeds down.

It also does a better job than anything else I know of at reducing the spring wetness of the garden area.

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