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Weed Killing Raised Garden
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Posted by
jimmy3323 Tennessee (
My Page) on
Sun, Mar 4, 12 at 15:25
| Hello everyone....last year I built a raised garden(12x6)and put 1/3 sifted top soil and 2/3 mushroom compost. Had amazing results with Bradley Tomatoes. I plan on planting more this year but we have some weeds in the garden bed. I am wanting to kill of the weeds with Roundup to make sure they are all gone, then a couple weeks later put in another layer of mushroom compost. Do any of you see any issues with residual roundup or any other issues? |
Follow-Up Postings:
RE: Weed Killing Raised Garden
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| I was reading about roundup. according to what I found, it sticks around in the soil for a little while, but will eventually leach out or break down. The good news is that (apparently) it's only a foliar spray, so it doesn't generally enter plants through their roots. may be safe. that being said... I opt for landscape fabric or plastic mulch. you can staple it right to the box and it's chemical free. sort of. just cut an X in it and plant straight through. |
RE: Weed Killing Raised Garden
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| I think we will put the fabric down this year. You think we would be okay with the round up then placing the fabric down? I had heard that it would leave the soil and would not hurt the plants. Any other suggestions for the the weeds. |
RE: Weed Killing Raised Garden
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| well - if you're going to use the roundup, just remember that you're rolling the dice. it may have no effect, or it could kill some of your plants. I have the same dilemma. i've found that the fabric kills mostly everything under it after a period of time. however, once you remove it and till the ground, you'll be subjecting a new batch of old seeds to conditions for them to germinate. the fight takes years to win effectively, if ever. anything you can do effectively without chemicals has my vote. radishes choke out weeds, as do carrots, zucchini, and some other crops. it's really about keeping sunlight away from the weeds until they die. |
RE: Weed Killing Raised Garden
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I wouldn't do it! No way! If you can't do it by hand buy a good hoe. I
recently bought 2 hoe's from Rogue Hoe. They make weeding very easy.
A good investment for me, since I have several raised beds that need
weeding. |
RE: Weed Killing Raised Garden
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| I'd hesitate to use round up for health reasons ... garden fabric or newspaper are a terrific alternative. |
Here is a link that might be useful: Best mulch for tomatoes
RE: Weed Killing Raised Garden
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I think I would rather put bio degradable round up in my garden than I would newspaper ink.
I use round up every spring to kill the winter weeds. I apply it 3 weeks prior to planting. It is not "rolling the dice". Your plants will be fine. |
RE: Weed Killing Raised Garden
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| I hand-pull the occasional weed, but my straw mulch keeps most of them down. You could pull what weeds you can, layer wet newspaper down, cover with straw, and cut holes or slits for planting. I recommend straw very highly. A lot of papers use vegetable-based ink. If the ink makes you leery, check with your local paper to see whether they will sell or give you blank newsprint. The craft stores like Michaels or office supply stores might have blank newsprint for sale, too. I wouldn't put Round Up in my vegetable soil, no matter how safe they say it is. I would rather put newspaper ink in it - haha! |
RE: Weed Killing Raised Garden
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| how quickly roundup breaks down is documented to be variable, with results ranging from days to much more than three weeks. As i stated before, it likely won't be a problem, but there is some level of risk involved, especially if you plant deep where early foliage may be buried or in contact with the ground. will that stop me from using it? probably not. there's nothing wrong with being aware of consequences though, and if you can do the same job without chemical additives, why not? -Rathos |
RE: Weed Killing Raised Garden
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| Jimmy, take some time and read up on Round-Up. Whether you can plant after using it is, as the above posters show, a matter of personal experience. But that's not all that's involved. To each his own, but I myself wouldn't let that product anywhere near my garden. Good luck with the weeds! Gary |
RE: Weed Killing Raised Garden
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| Yes, a quick web search finds articles that show that it has been known for years that glyphophate (roundup) causes birth defects in lab animals, that using it wholesale leads to increased plant pathogens, and decreases nutrients available to (and consequently in) plants grown later. It is, of course, up to you to decide what you are comfortable with, but just go do a bit of reading first. If you don't like newspaper, plain brown corregated cardboard is pretty easy to get a hold of too. 12 x 6 doesn't sound too big to weed by hand. |
RE: Weed Killing Raised Garden
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| I lIke the idea of The landscape fabric, cutting slits In the fabric for the plants. Thanks everyone. |
RE: Weed Killing Raised Garden
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| I would go for cardboard before newspaper. I don't know any papers around this area that use any type of 'safe' ink. Toner and ink are both highly toxic. So it seems you are trading one bad chemical for another. I know this method has been used for years and years, and I do not understand why. |
RE: Weed Killing Raised Garden
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| no way would I use roundup ... just the whiff of it will make a tomato curl up and hide. I cover my beds with black plastic to kill off weeds.
you can plant thru it or remove it and pluck any weeds as they emerge. |
RE: Weed Killing Raised Garden
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| I would hesitate to use Roundup where I wanted to grow edibles. 12 x 6 isn't that big. You can hand weed, or use a hula hoe, then mulch after you get your tomatoes planted. The weed seeds were probably in the topsoil you used, or drifted in with the wind. |
Here is a link that might be useful: What's Growing On?
RE: Weed Killing Raised Garden
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| The vinegar-and-soap trick works, but you will need several applications before killing the weeds (which is advantageous, since if you accidentally spray something you want to keep, just be sure not to spray it the next time). I do about 4 cups of plain white vinegar to 1 teaspoon of dish soap, sprayed on the leaves early on a warm day; spray the weeds every other day for a week or so. It's inexpensive and non-toxic, and you don't have to worry about residual toxins. As an added bonus, some desirable plants (blueberries and raspberries) prefer acidic soils, and some undesirable plants (poison ivy!) don't like acidity. |
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