How to keep weeds ot of raised garden beds?

[Rustyhands]

Hi everyone,

i want to make a multi bed raised vegetable garden and not too sure of cheap and efffective ways to keeps running grasses out of the beds.

Has anyone had any experience with fighting off this type of grass?

Cheers rusty

 

[DirtMechanic]

Cover them when not in use? I have even used a torch. Prevention is always best if you can sterilize the soil. What are the pictures looking like?

 

[cpp gardener]

It depends on what kind of grass it is and whether the beds are actually open to the ground around them.
If the beds are open to the ground, there is virtually no way to keep a running grass out of them short of a vertical wall of concrete at least 2’ deep and 2” thick. If there is a crack, grass WILL get in.
There are herbicides that will kill grasses without harming non-grasses, but many people don’t want to use herbicides around veggies.

 

[Scott F]

We use a healthy dose of Preen during early spring which keeps seeds from sprouting, then we put down a layer of mulch. We’ll get a few pieces of grass popping up but those are easily pulled if you get them before they have a chance to develop roots

 

[DirtMechanic]

We use a healthy dose of Preen during early spring which keeps seeds from sprouting, then we put down a layer of mulch. We’ll get a few pieces of grass popping up but those are easily pulled if you get them before they have a chance to develop roots

LOL! I bought my weeding machine some preen today!