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You can spend money on cheap weed mat films that
weeds come up through the first season. Then you have to fight weeds
and roots hanging on to the mat; what a mess and a lot more work.
You can buy thicker expensive weed mats that last years and do a
good job, but eventually they too disintegrate, and when they get
weeds roots growing into them you may be facing a full garden
replacement moving plants, plant losses, and heavy labor.
You can also use herbicides to kill weeds. They are not without
risks to you, the environment and to your favorite plants.
You may not
want to use chemical weed control for many reasons This Buff
Orpington, called what else but "Buffy," likes to examine every turn
of the dirt, even where a little weed gets pulled. And, she's
excellent at insect control eating anything that moves including
ticks.
So what's the solution?
There's a cheap and easy way to prevent weeds around small trees and
shrubs, and even large spaces or pathways through gardens; and you
can recycle to boot.
Ground below
low branched trees and shrubs can look shabby without weed control.
This past couple of seasons most people have had an excess of
cardboard boxes from deliveries, if you don't, it's almost a sure
thing your neighbor can happily help you out.
Cardboard can
be topped by wood chips in a formal garden or by mulch in a
vegetable garden.
Pull your boxes apart. Scissors or a blade will help cut nylon
enforced tape, then pull the one glued seam and you have a flat
cardboard sheet with some slits. Take your box and place next to
your tree (as an example,) cut to the desired size, 24 - 36 inches
wide around a small tree. Using a serrated knife in a sawing motion
works well to for rounding shapes. Cut a hole in the center a couple
inches wider than the tree trunk for a watering near the trunk.
Flip over so the box's inside is upward with no writing or labels,
just plain brown cardboard makes a great camouflage background.
It took about
30 minutes to transform this area at no expense. Many cities grind
branches at the landfill and offer free woodchips. It will take
minutes to maintain this appearance for a year, and it will be quick
and easy to refresh.
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Now top with wood chips or mulch. A medium sized
natural rock to weight the top is helpful until all is settled in a
few weeks. You now have a more finished tidy look that is good for
the whole season.
This looks
nicer. You could add edging or a couple more medium rocks to keep
the coverage in place.
The cardboard and mulch barrier help soil hold moisture during dry
times and you don't have to water as often. The combination slowly
breaks down, disintegrates, and does not need to be removed, though
if you choose to do so it is easy to clear away the old materials.
But you can also just layer when needed in a year or two.
This garden is
an example of cardboard that was laid two seasons ago. A new layer
of wood mulch was added over the top this past spring.
What few weeds do appear over the season, even deep rooted
dandelions, are more easily removed than if weed mat were in place.
In the meantime, no more weeds, nicer looking landscape, healthier
plants, no chemical or plastic use, and you have helped the
environment by recycling and planting trees. Yay for you!
[Jan Youngquist]
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