How do I Get Rid of Weeds and Mulch my Garden?
Getting rid of weeds and mulching your garden helps lock in much-needed moisture. From starting weed removal with a stirrup hoe in the spring to laying down layers of newspaper and hay, watch and learn as lawn and garden expert, Amy Grisak, shares her best tips for prepping your garden.
Video Transcription
What is the Best Tool for Weeding your Garden?
Hi, this is Amy Grisak with North 40 Outfitters. And
today, we're going to talk about how to prep your ground and then mulch, so you
keep the weeds down and keep the moisture in.Now in the early spring, one of
your best tools ever is going to be a stirrup hoe. It could be one with a nice
long handle like this, or a little shorter handle so if you're down on your
hands and knees, you can get after and in between the plants, too. Now, the way
you do it is just to scrape it lightly across the top of the garden, taking out
all those baby weeds. So it's not a lot of effort at all, but it takes them out
before they have a chance to grow and become a problem.
What is the Best Way to Add Mulch?
Now, after you get your weeds taken care of and all those little weeds gone and out of the way, you want to be able to put down your mulch. Now, mulch is very important, because it suppresses the weed growth, plus it helps retain that moisture, which is so important for us out here in the West. Another trick that you can use to be able to keep the weeds down is to use some sort of barrier. One of the easiest and least expensive is using six to eight sheets of newspaper, putting that down first, and then putting your mulch on top of it. This way it'll break down, keeps those weeds down, keeps the mulch in place. Plus the earthworms love it.
What Types of Mulch are there?
Now, what to use for mulch is something that people often wonder. A very popular way to go is to use straw. And especially in between rows of vegetables, it's really nice to put down the newspaper, put down a nice four to six inch thick layer of straw. And then not only are you going to have less weeds, it's also really nice and comfortable on your knees when you're weeding. Other things that you can use are compost. And there's also a special mulches in a variety of colors and textures that really adds something visually appealing to your garden, as well as being practical to knock those weeds down and keep that moisture in place.So mulching is a very important part of your garden because it saves space, saves the water, and also just makes everything look absolutely beautiful, neat and tidy.If you have any more questions about gardening, be sure to stop by any of the North 40 Outfitters locations or visit north40.com.