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Sunday of Memorial Day weekend. We had rain, clouds early morning, but around 2:00 PM the sun came out and it is lovely out. BUT noticeable more humidity. Farmers have been in and they are glad that it is getting warmer out. The crops were planted a month ago in some great weather and tillage of the soil worked up great. BUT then it turned cold and now wet. BUT the crops will grow enjoying the moisture and the warmer temperatures. That will also go for your gardens. Most of the plants have been just sitting there ready to get some moisture and heat to grow. I am thinking your radishes should be up, peas should be growing, cabbage and broccoli will love the cooler weather we have had. Now the tomatoes and peppers will be happier with the temperature and the moisture.
Now I know what else will grow but the weeds. With the warmer temperatures and the moisture they will be coming up like crazy. Here is going to be the challenge with gardening and keeping up with the weeds. I will suggest this technique and you can do it after you weed for the first time. You will put layers of newspaper down. Don't use the glossy paper as that will not decompose. Then put something down to hold the newspaper down between the rows like grass clipping, leaves, or mulch. If it is a dry year, it will help keep the moisture in, and also help with the weed control.
Here I found this article about newspapers. They suggested using mulch but I will go one step further and say you can use grass clippers or leaves anything to hold down the newspaper. Now none of this can be done till the ground is dried up. If you do it now, when the ground is wet you will create lots of lumps and they will stay with the garden all season lone. I know lots to understand about gardening but I want you to be successful especially if this is your first garden.
How to Use Newspaper in the Garden for Weed Control
Once gardeners have planted a garden and the tender young vegetables begin to emerge from the soil, most gardeners turn their attention to weed control. Weeds cannot grow amongst the desired vegetation because they will eventually choke out the good growth and take over. Weed prevention is a wise course of action, with mulch being a gardener’s most effective tool for accomplishing this. Choose newspapers as an affordable and effective mulch to control weeds in a vegetable garden.
Hoe the soil area between the growing plants to break up the soil and break loose weeds that may be growing.
Lay down a thick layer of newspapers around the plants and between the rows. Stack approximately 10 pages of newspapers so that the layer is at least 1/4 inch thick; cover all of the soil areas between plants and rows with layers of newspaper. Fold or cut the newspaper layers to fit into smaller areas, if necessary.
Use the hose and the spray nozzle to spray all of the newspaper layers after laying them down. This will keep the newspapers from blowing away before you apply the mulch.
Apply the shredded mulch over the newspaper to cover the newspapers completely. The shredded mulch serves to hide the newspaper and make the garden more attractive. It also holds down the newspapers and hastens the decomposition of the newspapers.
Work the newspapers into the soil in the autumn after harvesting all of the vegetables. Use a rototiller or a garden spade to break up the newspapers into smaller chunks. The next spring the newspapers will be sufficiently decomposed and the soil will be ready for planting again
taken from https://www.gardenguides.com/81359-use-newspaper-garden-weed-control.html
till next time this is Becky Litterer, Becky's Greenhouse Dougherty Iowa beckmall@netins.net
Now I know what else will grow but the weeds. With the warmer temperatures and the moisture they will be coming up like crazy. Here is going to be the challenge with gardening and keeping up with the weeds. I will suggest this technique and you can do it after you weed for the first time. You will put layers of newspaper down. Don't use the glossy paper as that will not decompose. Then put something down to hold the newspaper down between the rows like grass clipping, leaves, or mulch. If it is a dry year, it will help keep the moisture in, and also help with the weed control.
Here I found this article about newspapers. They suggested using mulch but I will go one step further and say you can use grass clippers or leaves anything to hold down the newspaper. Now none of this can be done till the ground is dried up. If you do it now, when the ground is wet you will create lots of lumps and they will stay with the garden all season lone. I know lots to understand about gardening but I want you to be successful especially if this is your first garden.
How to Use Newspaper in the Garden for Weed Control
Once gardeners have planted a garden and the tender young vegetables begin to emerge from the soil, most gardeners turn their attention to weed control. Weeds cannot grow amongst the desired vegetation because they will eventually choke out the good growth and take over. Weed prevention is a wise course of action, with mulch being a gardener’s most effective tool for accomplishing this. Choose newspapers as an affordable and effective mulch to control weeds in a vegetable garden.
Hoe the soil area between the growing plants to break up the soil and break loose weeds that may be growing.
Lay down a thick layer of newspapers around the plants and between the rows. Stack approximately 10 pages of newspapers so that the layer is at least 1/4 inch thick; cover all of the soil areas between plants and rows with layers of newspaper. Fold or cut the newspaper layers to fit into smaller areas, if necessary.
Use the hose and the spray nozzle to spray all of the newspaper layers after laying them down. This will keep the newspapers from blowing away before you apply the mulch.
Apply the shredded mulch over the newspaper to cover the newspapers completely. The shredded mulch serves to hide the newspaper and make the garden more attractive. It also holds down the newspapers and hastens the decomposition of the newspapers.
Work the newspapers into the soil in the autumn after harvesting all of the vegetables. Use a rototiller or a garden spade to break up the newspapers into smaller chunks. The next spring the newspapers will be sufficiently decomposed and the soil will be ready for planting again
taken from https://www.gardenguides.com/81359-use-newspaper-garden-weed-control.html
till next time this is Becky Litterer, Becky's Greenhouse Dougherty Iowa beckmall@netins.net
