Weeds in Garden

[jonereb]

What is a good chemical for killing garden weeds? Something other than Roundup. I have a small garden, only 30 x 40 ft. I tried manually pulling and chopping last summer but found it impossible to keep up.

 

[Chuck]

What is a good chemical for killing garden weeds? Something other than Roundup. I have a small garden, only 30 x 40 ft. I tried manually pulling and chopping last summer but found it impossible to keep up.

1 gallon 10% vinegar, 1 oz orange oil and a squirt of dishsoap. Spray in the heat of the day

 

[DirtMechanic]

1 gallon 10% vinegar, 1 oz orange oil and a squirt of dishsoap. Spray in the heat of the day

Ye old sunburn formula! Why orange oil? I am sure it smells nice!

 

[Marck]

Several questions. What type of garden is it? Are you speaking about a warm-season or year-round vegetable bed?
Do you know the identity of the weeds you are dealing with? Could you post photos your garden and/or the weeds?

Depending on the situation, cardboard mulching could make weeding much easier. Cardboard can be over-mulched with bark or wood chips if it there are aesthetic concerns.

 

[Chuck]

Ye old sunburn formula! Why orange oil? I am sure it smells nice!

Orange oil is in itself a herbicide. I just acts as a double whammy especially on hot sunny days. Also, when vinegar is used by itself weeds sometimes come back but with the orange oil additive this seldom happens.

 

[jonereb]

This is a summer vegetable garden, mostly field peas. My main culprit is Chamberbitter (Phyllanthus urinaria, commonly called chamber bitter, gripeweed, shatterstone, stonebreaker, leafflower & little mimosa.)

 

[Marck]

Chamberbitter (Phyllanthus urinaria) is a widspread, warm-season annual weed. it pulls up easily but seedlings can be abundant.
Most notable is that it is reported that light is required for germination, so shading the soil with fresh weed-free mulch of any type (compost, fine bark, cardboard, etc) would be a benefit. of course some seedlings would still come up, but the number could be reduced enough to make hand-pulling more manageable.
I agree, that vinegar and citrus oil could also be effective, though the trouble is making sure you only burn the weeds and not your crops. Applying the herbicide carefully enough might not be any easier that handpulling. Also, you will benefit from handpulling early in the season, before it gets hot and the weeds set seed.

 

[jonereb]

1 gallon 10% vinegar, 1 oz orange oil and a squirt of dishsoap. Spray in the heat of the day

Will that kill desirable vegetables also?

 

[jonereb]

Chamberbitter (Phyllanthus urinaria) is a widspread, warm-season annual weed. it pulls up easily but seedlings can be abundant.
Most notable is that it is reported that light is required for germination, so shading the soil with fresh weed-free mulch of any type (compost, fine bark, cardboard, etc) would be a benefit. of course some seedlings would still come up, but the number could be reduced enough to make hand-pulling more manageable.
I agree, that vinegar and citrus oil could also be effective, though the trouble is making sure you only burn the weeds and not your crops. Applying the herbicide carefully enough might not be any easier that handpulling. Also, you will benefit from handpulling early in the season, before it gets hot and the weeds set seed.

Handpulling is what I'm trying to avoid. Chamberbitter grows so rapidly that it's nearly impossible to control even in a small garden like mine. I'd love to use a pre-emerge like Isoxaben 75WG, but I'm not sure if it's meant for vegetable gardens.

 

[Marck]

I don't recommend pre-emergent herbicides in a vegetable garden.

Another option to consider is solarization, where the soil is covered in clear plastic, but that would take your garden out of productivity for at least a month in summer. There are other issues with solarization. Sterilizing the soil of beneficial organisms isn't a good idea.

I understand that uncontrolled weeds can be overwhelming to hand pull, but I also know that mulching can reduce hand pulling to a reasonable effort. I would creatively lay down strips of cardboard between the crop rows and other open spaces in the bed. Each year of successful weed management makes the next year easier.

 

[jonereb]

I don't recommend pre-emergent herbicides in a vegetable garden.

Another option to consider is solarization, where the soil is covered in clear plastic, but that would take your garden out of productivity for at least a month in summer. There are other issues with solarization. Sterilizing the soil of beneficial organisms isn't a good idea.

I understand that uncontrolled weeds can be overwhelming to hand pull, but I also know that mulching can reduce hand pulling to a reasonable effort. I would creatively lay down strips of cardboard between the crop rows and other open spaces in the bed. Each year of successful weed management makes the next year easier.

I start each year by adding a layer of leaves after planting in April. In fact, I'm accumulating autumn leaves right now for next summer's garden. However, the leaves don't last the entire growing season. Besides, Chamberbitter grows between desirable plants. Pulling chamberbitter disrupts the roots of desirables.

 

[Chuck]

Will that kill desirable vegetables also?

It will kill all desirables too. But it kills differently than glysophates. Vinegar orange oil kills by disrupting the cells in the leaf structure. Basically it defoliates while glysophates goes to the roots of a plant. Before I became too old to maintain my large vegetable garden of 1/4 acre the only thing I used to weed with was a hula hoe and vinegar and orange oil. I just walked the garden with a quart squirt bottle about once a week and by being careful could squirt weeds right next to a plant. Sometimes when weeds started to grow close to a vegetable plant I used the hula hoe. Also, just like with Roundup, it does not kill some plants so I use the hula hoe on them. I also have chamberbitter. Hula hoe works great on it too. Basically it pulls it up roots and all.

 

[MariGolding]

Whats the weed situation like exactly? You could add mulch to your garden to prevent weeds from spreading. Add weed mats and add mulch ontop of the mats to kill weeds without having to use chemicals.

 

[Durgan]

Any tool with a handle is work. I have about 20,000 square feet and use mulch and hoe almost daily, Weeds are a constant. I dislike chemicals and do not use.

 

[Durgan]

Whats the weed situation like exactly? You could add mulch to your garden to prevent weeds from spreading. Add weed mats and add mulch ontop of the mats to kill weeds without having to use chemicals.

Any tool with a handle is work. I have about 20,000 square feet and use mulch and hoe almost daily, Weeds are a constant. I dislike chemicals and do not use.