How to prepare veggie patch for later spring and summer?

Question

I'm getting ready to set up my veggie patch for an early November planting of tomatoes, chillies, and a few other crops. My main hurdle right now is a heavy breakout of winter weeds. I know they'll clear out once it warms up, but they always come back to life next winter. I'd love some step-by-step advice on how to prepare the soil and what pre-emergent methods or materials I should use to keep them from germinating again next year.

robchin · Answer

Morning @VijayWani

Sorry I'm late to this one - but I missed this earlier. One of the things you need to consider is that there is likely a large load of weed seed in your vege patch at any time. When you pull plants out or turn it over it exposes that seed to light and extra warmth and moisture - all the key requirements for germination. There is even an expression for it - Photoblastic. So it is inevitible that you'll get weeds in your vege patch. Three things for you to consider: 1) Never let the weeds in your vege patch go to seed (my grandfather's adage was 'One year of weed laziness - seven years of hard work.' 2) Consider using a mulch on your vege patch (I use sugar cane mulch and put it on as soon as I have turned over the soil - it adds nutrients to the soil as it breaks down) 3) Only turn over the soil when you have to. Fancy a bit of night gardening? Traditional farming techniques used 'photocontrol' cultivating the soil at night significantly reduces weed seed germination. Good luck.

JacobZ · Answer

Hi @VijayWani ,

It's fantastic that you are starting to prepare nice and early to get the garden bed into good shape before planting your tomatoes, chillies and other summer vegetables.

I'd start by removing the existing winter weeds now, making sure you get as much of the roots as possible. If any of them have started producing flowers or seed heads, I'd remove those carefully and dispose of them rather than adding them to your compost. This will help reduce the amount of weed seed being returned to the soil.

Once the weeds are cleared, I'd turn through some compost and well-rotted manure to add organic matter and nutrients to the soil. You can then allow the bed to sit until you're closer to planting time. If new weeds germinate in the meantime, simply pull or lightly hoe them out while they're young.

I wouldn't recommend using a pre-emergent herbicide in a vegetable garden. These products work by preventing seeds from successfully establishing, which can potentially interfere with vegetables and herbs that you want to grow from seed as well.

For longer-term weed control, one of the best options is simply a good layer of organic mulch. Once you've planted your vegetables, apply around 50-75mm of sugar cane mulch, keeping it back slightly from the stems of your plants. This will block light from reaching many weed seeds, while also helping the soil retain moisture and adding organic matter as it breaks down.

Unfortunately, there isn't really a way to guarantee that the winter weeds won't return next year. Weed seeds can remain viable in the soil for quite some time and can also be blown or carried into the garden. Regular mulching and removing weeds before they have an opportunity to set seed should, however, progressively reduce the problem.