One year my husband brought home some bales of oat hay. We stored it in a location that was, in retrospect, way too close to the garden! For the next two years, I had oat grass coming up everywhere, except for in the pasture where it would have been welcomed. Between the oat grass and the weed seeds that normally come into the garden via the irrigation and wind, I found that I was spending a lot of time weeding. Not that I mind a little weeding, it can be very therapeutic, but I was overwhelmed with the task. It was becoming not so much a task anymore as a burden! I incorporated a few simple tools into my gardening that have helped me to spend more time enjoying my garden, not just pulling weeds.
The first thing is flat soaker hose. I learned that plants will only thrive during the warm summer months where there is water. I plan out my garden and then I lay out this flat soaker hose in the places where I will be planting my vegetable and fruit plants and starts. It conserves water, and again, only waters the plants that you want watered.
The next thing I do is put down black plastic ground cover. It doesn’t have to be the most expensive, but the cheap stuff won’t even make it through one gardening season without shredding to pieces. A mid-grade quality works perfect. I usually get my black ground cover at the end of the summer on clearance and save it for spring. I unroll my plastic over the flat soaker hose and stake it in place so that it won’t blow away. I cover most of the ground in my garden. It’s this black plastic that inhibits the germinating of weed seeds and easily keeps them in check. It also helps to hold the moisture in the soil so your ground doesn’t dry out as quickly, again conserving water. To plant my starts or seeds, I simply cut a small square in the ground cover near the soaker hose, plant, and then place the tire so that the plant is centered in the opening. I don’t put ground cover where I plant my rows of beans. I do have to weed this area, but it’s manageable and my chickens and geese who are coop bound enjoy the greens!
I then use some old tires with homemade wire tomato cages positioned in the center. I position these over the soaker hose so that when I plant my tomato in the center, it will get watered, protected when young by the tire and have the support of the cage as it matures and produces. The tires will also help to hold the black plastic in place. I also use these tires with cages for other vegetable plants as well, such as cucumber and melon plants. If you have chickens that like to hang out in your garden, these tires will help to protect your young plants.
Lastly, I use cheap dollar store laundry baskets in my garden. I can place these upside down over delicate new plants, any plant that my chickens think is delectable (cabbage), or new melons and squash to protect them. They work great! I might put them over newly planted seeds to discourage critters and birds from unearthing them and then as the plants develop and start producing fruit, I will move the baskets to protect the new fruits. These baskets at $1.00 a piece will last for a few seasons if put away for the winter. Mine have saved many a cabbage head!
Whatever you do, don’t forget to incorporate into your garden soil that luscious compost you have been taking care of all winter. Replenishing the nutrients that were taken out of the soil last growing season is an important step that can NOT be overlooked if you want a beautiful, green, productive garden!
Hi Julie. I have done a hay garden for 30 years. The trick is to get spoiled hay or brome hay that’s doesn’t have seeds. I e made the mistake of using other hay and like you – grew hay. If you’ve never read it – I use the No Work Garden method by Ruth Stout. You should google her. The book is out of print but I have two copies if your interested. I like some of your ideas. May incorporate some of them this season. I also want to compost this year. I always throw compostable waste in my garden but want to do it properly this year. Suggestions?
Hey! I’ve seen pictures of your garden and your harvest! Beautiful! I will check out your method. Thanks! I also want to try pallet gardening for my herbs this spring. That sounds kind of fun. I think you tried it last year. I did write a post on what I do to compost…Making Dirt. From everything I have read and tried, it’s not hard. All those waste products break down and put nutrients back into the soil eventually, it’s just a matter of how serious you want to tackle the project and how quickly you want to turn waste into compost. I also have the added benefit of animal waste that I add into my garden as well. I start my compost bucket in the spring, add waste to it all summer, fall and winter, add water, stir and dump it into the garden in the spring, then start the process over. Some folks use a plastic kiddie pool to collect waste products and let their chickens do the stirring! Any tips on pallet gardening?