Mulching
Mulching is a technique of covering your garden with material to prevent light from nourishing weed seeds and to block the weeds from coming up. It is especially effective for landscaping, but works well in gardens, too. Giraud says that because it is permanent, it can save you a lot of work over time. At the start, however, mulching is a very labor intensive project, and requires a lot of heavy lifting of mulch bags. So if you go this route, don’t be a hero -– ask for help.
Giraud points out that mulch should be applied about 4 to 6 inches deep to provide enough shade. After a few years, she says, the mulch will need to be replenished -- another project that might affect your back, unless you plan to take the appropriate precautions. Along those lines, About.com’s Gardening guide, Marie Iannotti, has some tips on determining how much mulch you need.
While there are a number of types of mulch material, the main thing to think about when choosing it, says Giraud, is that it should be permeable, allowing for moisture to seep into the soil. About.com’s Landscaping Guide, David Beaulieu. has a great guide for laying landscape fabric. He admits that landscape fabric is not for everyone, and also gives pointers on determining which type of mulch is best suitable for your landscape or garden.
And as for mulching in the vegetable garden, summer vine crops such as cucumbers or squash can benefit, if it is done in the first month, before the vines are in the ground, Giraud says.
Raised Beds
If you have back pain, I am sure I don’t have to tell you that working in the vegetable garden can at times be very difficult. Giraud suggests building raised beds from either wood or cinder blocks. "They have edges that you can sit on, just don’t make them too wide or you may have to lean too much," she says.
Cooking Your Soil – Solarization
Another way to reduce weeds in the vegetable garden is to first solarize (“cook”) the soil and then plant in a wide bed system. The solarization kills the weed seeds and the wide bed system reduces the amount of germination of the remaining ones. Giraud suggests when you plant your vegetables, do so with minimal tilling or other disturbance of the soil. This is to prevent the weeds from making their way up.
Change Your Attitude About Weeds
About.com's Landscaping Guide, David Beaulieu, suggests we change our attitude about weeds, as a way of winning the war over them. For example, there are edible weeds, although it's a good idea to remember that not all weeds are - some are poisonous. To help out, David also has created a weed identification guide and a picture gallery for easy weed recognition. He counsels us that it helps to know about what you are fighting, as eradicating weeds will require different strategies, based on their type.
