Keeping Weeds Out

[@ardenthebibliophile]

I'm glad you show the "ugly" side of your garden as well. It makes it much easier for me to see my own problems and know I'm not alone dealing with the weeds!

[@jeshurunfarm]

That is so true

[@REDGardens]

Glad you appreciate that, as I also think it is important to show the ugly and failed parts.

[@bentico1838]

I really appreciate how in depth you go with explaining your gardening principles, I always learn so much from your videos, and this one is especially applicable as I'm about to start a new vege patch amongst a paddock of very tall grass. Wish me luck!

[@MeandYouHello]

Luck 🍀

[@REDGardens]

Good Luck! And thanks for the comment. It is good to know that people appreciate my efforts!

[@ivyclark70]

Good luck! We have lawn next to our raised beds and I thought leaving a 1 foot gap/buffer would be enough. It was until work got busy and I neglected the growth of the grass runners towards the beds. 3 years in and I'm still finding grass poking through in the beds, although fewer of them are doing that now, I suspect it will be a couple more years before I get on top of them.

[@mikemadison7410]

The arborist dumped a truckload of wood chips on top of a dormant bindweed plant. The next spring the bindweed came straight up through four feet of chips and out the top of the pile. So if you expect to supress bindweed with wood chips alone, four feet deep is not enough.

[@jeshurunfarm]

Wow. That's rough.

[@REDGardens]

That is a tough plant when it has an established root system!

[@MariuszWelna]

I mulched my strawberries so thick with cartboard, straw, woodchips and tight around plants. I got rid of all weeds, exept bindweed. Now it's a dense 7x5m bindweed field.

[@44birdie44]

You’re a brave man using a spade and fork so near the polytunnel plastic!

[@REDGardens]

Or stupid.

[@jeshurunfarm]

I was thinking the same thing.

[@jeshurunfarm]

@@REDGardens the difference between Brave and Stupid is the result of the attempted challenge. If you are successful - You are brave.

[@REDGardens]

@@jeshurunfarm I also used the spade that was very dull, increasing my chance of not being so stupid!

[@batyushki]

Regarding barriers between the garden and the outside (especially scutch grass), here in Wicklow I have lots of ceramic roof tiles from neighbours who removed their old roofs. I cut an edge to the garden and bury the tiles sideways, so they are about 8 inches below ground and maybe 4 above. If you overlap them or make sure they are tightly laid together, it keeps most creeping plants out and is more permanent. If tiles break, I hammer them into smaller pieces and they become part of the hedgerow. Like you I am also a heavy user of woven plastic cloth for weed suppression outside as my soil is infested with buttercup, scutch grass and nettles. However I am amazed that I can nuke an area for an entire year with the plastic, and still find roots willing to come up after I remove it. These plants are amazingly resilient. Someday some geneticist will turn them into super vegetables and the world will be overrun with creeping lettuce.

[@jeshurunfarm]

Creepy lettuce. Bwhahaha.

[@REDGardens]

The old tile sounds like a good idea. If you also line it with some plastic you might not need to overlap them so much. I think there is too much sunlight getting in through the fabric, and the plants can stay alive for much longer. That is why I use two layers of plastic fabric, often using an older piece that tis worn and may have some holes in it under a sheet that is in better shape. This also prevents the blades of the scutch grass from piercing the fabric so easily.

[@quercusmorgana]

Thank you for sharing your trials and tribulations! I thought I was just a failure at getting rid of grass from my garden beds, but it’s not as simple as people kept telling me, “Just cover it with cardboard for a season!”

[@Qopzeep]

Bruce, please give us a long video of you just removing taproots and rhyzomes. It's just so satisfying to watch!

[@Qopzeep]

I'm saying that as a man who each year has to battle the mighty horsetail, my most formidable garden nemesis.

[@REDGardens]

An extended video of weeding!!

[@Qopzeep]

@@REDGardens I would love that to be honest 😁

[@Yhoshua_B]

I'm 5 minutes in and I'm learning things I've never considered in regards to weeding and planning for a garden. Thank you so much for sharing this information so freely!

[@REDGardens]

Excellent!

[@amrass08]

Great video. Exactly the kind of information growers need! I love to see how successful Red Gardens is and at the same time all the trials and trouble you have as well. It is more real and helpful.

[@REDGardens]

Thanks! Glad you liked the video!

[@BalticHomesteaders]

I have been mulling over using some old polytunnel plastic to make barriers just like you did so it's affirming to hear your feedback on that method. I quickly learn that there's no one fix for weeds and weeding just needs a strategy that is right for your context. I'm 100% with you that regular weeding is core to that strategy and I think we as gardeners need to see that as part and parcel of what we do. I personally now genuinely look forward to that hour here or there zipping about with the wire weeder in the garden beds (usually with an audiobook in my ears). We also suffer with the creeping thistle and my ultimate nemesis is ground elder.

[@AtheistEve]

Ground elder is quite tasty.

[@REDGardens]

Yes, the plastic definitely slows down the scutch grass, but I don't know how deep you would need to go to keep out bindweed and others. One improvement I am looking into would be to fix some kind of guard, pipe or plank at the top so that it doesn't get pushed down by the grass.

[@ivyclark70]

Thank you for taking the time to share your experiences and ideas with us. I've fought what I felt has been a long battle with the grass which have found their way into my vege beds from the lawn near the beds. Your video has shown me that persistence and keeping in top of that is important to prevent more tiresome weeding from neglect. I've learned that the hard way too. 😢

[@REDGardens]

It is a tough way to learn!

[@janetthornton7909]

I too struggle with quack (scutch) grass invading my veg garden. What has worked well is burying metal flashing or metal roofing vertically around the perimeter of my garden. The metal must be 18” wide so the roots don’t go under it.

[@panjab6119]

Will definitely be putting landscape fabric around my tunnel, thanks for the tip 👍

[@REDGardens]

👍

[@cooperreynolds5041]

For the barrier around the polytunnels, have you tried burying both ends of the ground cover fabric? Meaning: bury the end of the fabric that isn't touching the polytunnel as well as what you're already doing with the end that is touching the polytunnel (like an inverted U of fabric with both of the tails imbedded in the ground).

[@jeshurunfarm]

Hmm that does sound like a good idea.

[@REDGardens]

Interesting option, I might give that a try. Thanks.

[@cooperreynolds5041]

@@REDGardens Happy to contribute an idea, thanks for the reply!

I made a 60cm wide edge around my beds, digged out the turf and filled with woodchips. Its not a final solution but it helps me to see when some undesired plants are trying to reach my beds so I can reverse their progress.

[@REDGardens]

I like the idea of a deep woodchip path around the gardens.

@@REDGardens I've noticed that earthworms like it too.

[@rymlks]

I could watch clips of you pulling those deep creeping thistle roots out all day. Love to see those pesky things dealt with

[@REDGardens]

It is sooo satisfying!

[@2smallplots]

Thanks for this, I’ve been a bit concerned about the creeping buttercup coming through the cardboard and up into the light in my no dig bed but you really put things into prospective for me with the volume of garden and amounts of weeds you are dealing with.. I’m learning a lot from your channel

[@REDGardens]

Buttercup do seem to have a lot of force behind their growth. They seem to easily grow up through the cardboard.

[@2smallplots]

@RED Gardens guess I'll just keep pulling it and hopefully it will die off !

[@bobaloo2012]

The last couple of tunnels I put in I ran a strip of 3' wide landscape fabric down each sidewall, 3/4 outside, 1/4 inside with the pipes poking up through it. After I got them done, I bent up the inside portion and put my compost on the beds, the landscape fabric made a nice "wall" to hold the compost in place against the side. This has worked really well so far, the portion outside has worked to keep the weeds at bay.

[@jeshurunfarm]

I am sorry but I have to say, Miami Vice was my favorite show. I can still hear the opening tune playing in my head.

[@REDGardens]

Sounds like a good option, if you aren't burying the plastic in a trench. Having the fabric go from inside to outside will deal with a lot.

[@notforwantoftrying1]

Wow, I can't believe how deep/long some of those weed roots you dug up were. Pretty satisfying feeling to watch the entire intact root being dug up though

[@REDGardens]

Yeah, it is the most satisfying part of having to deal with weeds!

[@rogerclarke7407]

Thistle was the worst weed I have ever had to deal with. They seem to thrive where the ground was covered (where the swimming pool was or a heavy fabric in another location). Don't take a rototiller to a patch of them I made that mistake once. I ended up digging up all the topsoil piling it in a corner of the garden and sifting out all the roots. Also to keep the rhizomes out of the garden, I have a shallow ditch around the garden, just down to the subsoil. seems to work pretty good.

[@REDGardens]

A ditch would work well.

[@jameskniskern2261]

I've come to similar conclusions about good buffer zones. To the point of laying out beds differently and putting paths on the fence side of the gardens.

[@REDGardens]

Yes, if I had to do it again I would layout the gardens a lot differently.

[@Duskbear]

@@REDGardens That would make for an interesting video actually!

[@B3RG3RS0N]

The fact that root system is interconnected lends itself to spraying with glyphosate. One treatment will kill most of the roots. Digging it up just encouraging new growth

[@elizabethmilward8301]

I have a lot of trouble with weeds too, including weeds coming in from outside the garden. In my case its mostly grass, bindwind, and the neighbor's trees that like to put out suckers twenty feet away from their trees in the middle of my garden beds. I end up digging the tree saplings up as much as I can, and then cutting all parts of the root out I can reach. Hopefully this year will be better since I did a whole bunch of that every time I found one in the past few months. I also get morning glory, but that's not nearly as well established except among the raspberries.

[@REDGardens]

Yeah, weeds like that are tough, especially when they come in from an area you cant control!

[@DeadeyeJoe37]

I'm in Hawaii and if you don't weed regularly, you will wind up with a jungle complete with quick growing trees and vines. However, in one of beds, I had a tomato 'weed' start growing (it's a wild cherry tomato that bushes like crazy) so I do like that surprise weed. I usually use a thick woodchip mulch to suppress the weeds. When I do get a weed, it's easy to pull up if I don't let it establish.

[@REDGardens]

A think mulch of woodchip does seem to help. I need to get more woodchip!

[@ximono]

Nice, I wish creeping tomato was a weed in our climate :)

[@pinballwizard6906]

Screw pallet boards onto the plastic to hold between the stakes might hold abit longer ✌️😎

[@thepandaman]

It wasn't cheap, but I've invested in a wheel hoe, and I'm hoping that'll help me whiz round the borders and paths with the oscillating hoe attachment, leaving more time for detailed weeding around the plants themselves. So far so good! (although limited by fairly persistent rain)

[@REDGardens]

Frequent passing with a hoe like that will do a lot!

[@kevinstout2136]

Excellent video as always. I was hoping for an update on your perennial garden space, which last I saw had succumbed to weed pressure. I am in the process of preparing a large new space for perennial vegetables and shrubs and based on my experience with my annual vegetable garden I figure it will be a multiyear process before I feel confident that I have removed the most pernicious weeds and can plant my perennials. Do you have any plans to rehabilitate your perennial garden space or re-start from scratch using these techniques?

[@REDGardens]

Thanks. The perennial garden is being restarted as a different form of vegetable garden, one the focusses on building all soil fertility within the garden itself. I gave up on the perennial garden option, as a focused space, but want to develop more perennial beds around the larger grown space I am managing. And I definitely want to ensure that all perennial weeds are out of the space before planting!

[@Picci25021973]

Thanks for sharing! I use a three steps method: mulch - mulch - mulch! 🙂

[@REDGardens]

🙂

[@Mastadex]

Enjoyable and informative as always. I was wondering; you seem well educated in this field, and have travelled from Canada to Ireland. I'm curious about you're story; how you ended up here and why you chose gardening over a more modern vocation? Anyway, as a Canadian with a gardening addiction, this is all fascinating (even though the your climate makes me jealous... there is a foot of snow outside still).

[@REDGardens]

Thanks! I don't think I have talked about very much before on the channel, but I have always been an 'environmentalist' or at least concerned about the world around me, as I grew up in the country among trees and rivers, and was introduced to food growing, bee keeping and a lot of other things early in my life. Studied architecture and worked in that profession for a bit, but didn't like how much developers and money distorted everything. Was introduced to the ideas and possibilities of urban agriculture. Fell into doing digital imaging for other architects, and got really god at it, but making pretty pictures of other peoples' designs wasn't so rewarding for me, and I felt drawn to trying to make the world a better place. Got involved with an independent think tank working on the interrelationships between climate change, energy decent, housing crisis, taxation, resilience, poverty, migration, money systems, and food security, where I became the food security guy, but also involved in so many other interconnected systems. Tried to help develop policy, and set up a few advocacy organisations relating to food issues. Through that I realised that most of the issues in the world could be made easier to resolve if more people grew more of their own food. So I set out to find a gap or a space that I could work within that, which could also be rewarding for me, where I would be able to leverage my skills and abilities, while providing something that I though was needed. So research gardens focused on exploring different ideas and options seemed a useful area to explore, and the KZbin channel eventually became the obvious outlet for that, which would hopefully earn enough money to be able to keep going, but I am in a privileged enough situation where we can live a good life quite cheaply. Didn't plan to write so much, but that is a good part of the journey. Shorter answer I wanted to do something important that wasn't being done, that was also interesting to me, and I was stubborn enough to keep going without any formal education in any of it.

[@LjubomirSimin]

​@@REDGardens this needs a video on its own, way too interesting to be left in a comment

[@REDGardens]

@@LjubomirSimin Yeah, I should probably do one.

[@ivyclark70]

@redgarden maybe it can be an episode with a pint of something to your liking, and we can sit around a fireside and listen to your story.

[@jeshurunfarm]

Respect from Africa 🇿🇦

[@REDGardens]

🙂

[@josephsaid6922]

As usual an enjoyable video. From Mississauga

[@REDGardens]

🙂 Hello there in Mississauga. I grew up in Caledon!

[@josephsaid6922]

@@REDGardens What made you to go to Ireland and how are the winters there compared to Southern Ontario

[@REDGardens]

@@josephsaid6922 An Irish woman brought me home with her. The winters are very mild compared to Southern Ontario, rarely going below freezing, with very little snow. And the spring comes in a lot earlier. There is decent growth outside already, and we can harvest a limited range of stuff all winter.

[@gregbluefinstudios4658]

i wonder if a layer of cardboard and wood chips around the perimeter of the polytunnel would help? A meter wide?

[@gregbluefinstudios4658]

btw the WORST for us here is Bindweed

[@REDGardens]

I am not sure it would last long enough to suppress the weeds, and them it would need to maintain it every year or two, but it would be nice to have that kind of perimeter.

[@REDGardens]

It is the WORST!

[@gregbluefinstudios4658]

@@REDGardens Just a reminder, I am always very generous with your labor and time. Feel free to spend all the time you need on making the perimeter! LOL!

[@howdy9433]

amazing as always, will trial half burying old slabs to stop the blackthorn hedge from growing into my polytunnel? thanks for the ideas

[@REDGardens]

🙂

[@Andersp90]

Have you tried the method of creating "false seedbeds"? I have found this to be the most effective way to control annual weeds. And thx for yet another great video!

[@Tippler0611]

If ever there was a convincing reason to grow seedlings in pots, watching you tease out the weeds from young plants is sure one! Can't even count the number of times I've pulled lettuce and left weeds. On the flip side, so many are delicious medicine that I feel guilty. I have been known to dig up and replant dandelions INTO my garden

[@REDGardens]

I am so glad to be past that stage of the gardens, or at least have the experience of knowing how to avoid a mass of weeds like that!

[@brandoncampbell9794]

Id be really interested to see your take on Dr. Elaine Inghams method of by improving the soil life and biology weeds are eliminated entirely. It's quite interesting and the results are almost unbelievable, its definitely work watching the lecture.

[@REDGardens]

I have seen some of Elaine's work, and have only experimented with it a bit, not enough to make any judgement or assessment. Generally I have found that really positive claims about any method or approach tend to be over emphasised, with key issues that are ignored, and tend to be dependent on particular contexts. And I have to admit that I have a bias agains this particular approach. A few years ago I had a someone visit who was practicing and promoting the methods that Elaine talks about. He talked a lot with certainty about what was going on in the soil with the biology, and how to fix things, and then took samples of the soil around a few of my gardens, and examined them under the microscope. He didn't find anything that he was talking about, and was not able to offer any analysis or any recommendations, he just seemed confused. And I wasted half a day with him. So, based off of that bad experience, I have been hesitant to really engage with trying the method as much as I should. And it also seems to be more useful for large scale systems, where saving fertility resources can be so crucial that it can be worth hiring in a specialised consultant. But this seems inaccessible for people simply growing food for themselves, which is the scale I generally operate at. So longish answer to say that I am sceptical of the incredible claims in general, have been let down, and don't think it would be useful at the scale I am focused on. But I still want to learn more and explore for myself ... when I have the time.

[@brandoncampbell9794]

@@REDGardens Awesome reply, thanks for taking the time to explain that, really interesting. I live in a condo myself and am just enthusiastic about learning and experimenting. My front yard is packed with flowers and veggies lol. I really enjoy incorporating sustainable methods and organic ideas, for instance I have two bunnies and I feed them greens I grow then I use thier urine and poppies as compost to grow more (bunny urine and poop is amazing fertilizer btw, its cold and is over twice the nitrogen of chicken manure. More phosphorus too.) I've also been experimenting with my own urine after watching your video. I can use the water id spend flushing it to dilute it and use it on the plants. It's very rewarding to see insects and animals around that were never here before and how contagious it's been for all the neighbors. I get many compliments and they are now starting plants of thier own. Love your videos and your experimenting. The community aspect its awesome too. Hope one day I can do something similar. Keep it coming. 👍

[@firefly5421]

Very interesting video, thanks for doing a lot of hard work and sharing with us! It looks like I have a lot of hard work ahead in my future as well to follow your path. I'm curious - I'm up in Galway and currently battling slugs in my cover crops and they have decimated my squash in the past. Do you have any advice for getting these pests under control?

[@REDGardens]

I have a video about that kzbin.info/www/bejne/jmK3lGCCmrVrqsk from a few years ago. We have also started using a wildlife friendly slug pellet from fruithillfarm.com which seems to work well.

[@firefly5421]

@@REDGardens You are a blessing, thanks a mill!

[@lambsquartersfarm]

I have that same grass here in Canada, it has plagued me over the years. It's strangled many a blueberry and current plant to death. I found I had to till over and over again, and a very dry summer helped get rid of most. About your grass pathways: what about digging them out and create a less invasive cover like a clover? And/or creating a comfrey border? Then the mowed cuttings can also be used as fertilizer?

[@REDGardens]

That grass can strangle out a lo of things. The paths around my gardens need to be walkable by older people, so need to keep them fairly clear, and digging out all the scutch grass would be a tough task!

[@mayathelittlepuppy5128]

Hi, i have a question, at 10.03 of the video, where did you buy your polytunnel plastic? it is very clear and i need some plastic like this. Thank you and i love your videos...Jude

[@REDGardens]

There is a supplier close to us called polydome.ie but I also wash the plastic regularly.

[@mayathelittlepuppy5128]

@@REDGardens thank you!

[@chucknorisclone]

I am trying blocking 14 comfry to surround some areas this year

[@REDGardens]

Hope it works well for you.

[@AJWGBFX]

My botanical nemeses are bindweed and mare’s tail. I practice no dig and as my soil has got more friable I don’t try to dig them out anymore. I pull them gently til they swap, getting 6 to 12 inches of root most times. Life’s too short to dig and the only other option for me is glyphosate, which I avoid if possible.

[@REDGardens]

I use to think that I will be able to pull all the shoots regularly enough to make a difference, but when things get busy in the summer, those weeds get a chance to rebound.

[@ceselb]

Silly question or maybe impractical. But why not use a tiny amount of roundup applied with a small paintbrush to each weed you've missed and thus speading it by root system? Or does the roots not transfer it well enough to kill the larger root system?

[@REDGardens]

Good question. I have heard that is a potential method for dealing with a large embedded weed root system like bindweed. Not sure if it would work if scutch grass, and have never tried it. Apparently painting the actively growing tips of a bindweed plant with some types of herbicide, and even then covering it with a plastic bag, will definitely reduce the potential negative impacts of the herbicide. But it isn’t something I can use in this site that I am leasing/sharing.

[@gailthornbury291]

Ground elder is the bane of my life. It’s immortal.

[@REDGardens]

Glad I don't have that one in the mix!

[@ximono]

It's very tasty and nutritious when harvested young. If you can't beat it, eat it!

[@OrtoInScatola]

The horizontally growing perennial weeds are the reason I don’t think no dig can work where I live. I use raised beds with 50cm of compost inside and I clear the soil under the beds before filling them up. But when I occasionally move a bed, I always find those weeds deep inside the compost and a good percentage still alive after years of being covered by 50cm of compost.

[@REDGardens]

Yeah, they can disrupt lovely plans for no-dig!

[@ThatBritishHomestead]

i have to say I have just spent the day weeding yesterdayits not the funniest thing to so but i am enjoying it a lot more than I used to with my Hori Hori knife makes it so much easier. Im toing to hopfully remove all weeks before they seed! LOL each year it get earier

[@critterjon4061]

I usually don’t use herbicides in my garden if I can help it but with Canada thistle I make an exception as it is almost impossible to pull up the full rhizome and it seems to spread faster than I can kill it

[@rogerclarke7407]

I found that the rhizome will grow in a corkscrew shape so they would break if pulled.

[@lambsquartersfarm]

I find it helps get them after a good heavy rain, seems to get most of the roots to give up better.

[@martincrabtree6704]

There is a good case for it in certain situations. It's commonly known as weedkiller here and mainly Glyphosate, but to be more precise in your example it's 'weed postponer' because it only kills off the top growth of many weeds for 6 months. As the roots are unaffected it then comes back.

[@REDGardens]

I don't have any experience with herbicides, but I can see how people would use them when dealing with really problematic types of plants.

[@scootertasmania6619]

What is a wire weeder please ?

[@henrydunne3051]

How is your municipal compost sourced? We use municipal "compost" but it's basically just old garden waste from the public which has supposedly been heat treated I believe, but it's not very well regulated meaning anyone can get rid of anything, we used it in our greenhouse and it was carrying bindweed which has proven to be impossible to get rid of, so maybe watch out if the compost you are getting is created the same way.

[@REDGardens]

There is a company here in Ireland that collects stuff from the different municipalities I think. Apparently it is run but someone who is really passionate about compost and works to keep a high quality, or at least a clean product.

[@sheelaghomalley5459]

Where do you buy your compost from? Am in Co WicklowHave moved to much larger growing area,so need an affordable option

[@REDGardens]

I get it from a supplier in Roscrea. But it is Enrich compost - they have a website and probably other distributors. I have found it to be clean and convenient, but expensive enough, and not very fertile. Still needs a year or so to feed the plants, so I usually amend it with some concentrated form of fertiliser.

[@sheelaghomalley5459]

@@REDGardens thank you.

[@MilesMadigan]

Bindweed is what I’m still struggling with. I tried planting a bunch of daffodils in edges to see if their allelopathic qualities would help. Not quite sure yet.

[@REDGardens]

It is a tough one! It will will interesting to see if the daffodils have any effect.

[@robertcroweiv3037]

That's the one thing about weeding, if you feel the crack, their coming back... never ending!!

[@REDGardens]

Yes, never ending!

[@scottbaruth9041]

Zone 6a. Sometimes weeds can be useful, like when you build a house, and you will settle for anything green to hold your soil in place till your grass seed gets going. I do something very unconventional but very successful in my 50x50ft potato patch, which keeps me in eating potatoes and seed potatoes clear until about the time you plant the seed potatoes the following year. Plant, hill, and weed your potatoes like normal until they bloom. At that time, let your weeds go. The potatoes will still finish, and the weeds will grow tall and provide shade and keep your potatoes cool and perfectly until you need them for eating or selling. It looks horrible. You'll never take a picture and post it on Facebook, but you'll have potatoes firm and perfectly preserved until you need to dig them to eat or sell. Only dig them as you need them, or when the winter freeze is coming. The following year that patch will have a lot of weed seed in it, so I succession crop bush beans with grass clippings for mulch, which works well to smother or kill out the annual weeds.

[@batyushki]

I let the potato patch go too after it dies off, and remove the perennial weeds throughout the winter as I dig up potatoes to eat.

[@scottbaruth9041]

@batyushki goes against all the rules, but we just yesterday decided it's time to buy potatoes as ours are finally getting to soft to eat. I have a garage that doesn't freeze but is colder than our basement, so potatoes dug before the freeze store pretty good.

[@REDGardens]

That is a useful option of simply letting the weeds that develop become a type of green manure. I like that method of only digging potatoes when I need them, thought he slugs can do a lot of damage while the potatoes are waiting buried in the soil.

[@ChristopherPisz]

instead of a plastic barrier to keep grass out, have you considered aluminum flashing that is used for roof construction? It's pretty darn cheap, flexible, more permanent, and better for the environment then plastic, I imagine. I've been putting it along my fence line with some canna lilly and comfrey on the neighbor side of the flashing to form a barrier.

[@martincrabtree6704]

Plastic is free and because it doesn't break down it's there forever - until someone pulls it out after he's pushing up daises.

[@REDGardens]

I was thinking of using some kind of metal barrier, but went with the free option. The metal would definitely be easier to maintain.

[@AtheistEve]

@@martincrabtree6704 Plastic, specially that clear plastic, does break down though. It can go horribly brittle from UV EXPOSURE.

[@martincrabtree6704]

@@AtheistEve No it doesn't, it's from a Polytunnel. It's made to purposely not break down with UV.

[@AtheistEve]

@@martincrabtree6704 Will extend its life, though not indefinitely.

[@eddiejohnson7419]

Do you compost the grass rhizomes?

[@REDGardens]

Yes. My composting system is fairly robust, and we cover it enough to eventually smother most of the roots. And anything that survives we simply pull out before using the compost.

[@Farm2Curb]

Weeding. Reason #2 why I've been transitioning to edible perennial based gardening, ie permaculture. Over time, the food forest herb layer becomes so populated with species introduced that it naturally displaces any undesireable plants. Secondly, many so-called "weeds" are incredibly nutritious and medicinal, ie dandelions and docks and mustards.

[@REDGardens]

That is something I would love to explore.

[@FireflyOnTheMoon]

I find "chop and rop" is a nightmare for slugs. I have stopped doing it, have taken to "tidying up" and the slug problem is much better. - - - If I were Bruce, I would be so tempted to gel the perennial weeds, though I know that is not an option in this situ. If not using Glyphosate, at least we can understand why people end up with it in these very difficult and expensive Sisyphean tasks.

[@REDGardens]

It is a tough task without herbicides, but by not taking the easy and toxic route, I am learn gin a lot more how to manage them more effectively. As you say, I can't use them in my situation, but I also think it is problematic to rely on only one tool, especially one that is potentially so problematic in other ways.

[@jimmys60ny]

A really good video. Thanks. I find bindweed to be the biggest problem of all. Followed very, very closely by Mares Tail. However as you have shown ten minutes with a hoe, makes a huge difference, even if you can't see any surface weeds. Three years ago I saw someone killing MaresTail using WD40 and gave it a go. It works, don't know how but it does, then I tried it on Bindweed, it sort of works but cannot keep up with the sheer rate of bindweed growth. Couch, twitch or scutch grass (different regional names for the same bloody pest), is just so adept at survival that I think your methods are the accepted norms.

[@batyushki]

Be careful with WD40, it is poison and not something I would recommend using in the garden. Bindweed and mares tail both respond fairly well to a stirrup hoe; though you can't really remove the deep roots, you can wear out the plant by removing its top repeatedly.

[@REDGardens]

Yeah, bindweed is a tough one! I wonder wha tit was in the WD40 that killed it. Makes me not want to sue it near anything growing!

[@jimmys60ny]

Cut the top and bottom off a large plastic bottle, put that over the Mares Tail and spray. The neighbouring plats are quite safe. It works by blocking the plants pores and effectively stopping respiration and photosynthesis. Mares Tail is a very ancient primitive type of plant that can root even deeper that couch grass.

[@peperillon]

Less seed in soil means less future for the soil in case of change of use for your soil. Seed in soil is biodiversity for the future. Maybe one of those seed will be able to fix an issue of your soil. What you should aim is seed dormancy not depleted seed stocks. You may also try to kill the plant after the flower is formed while its growing the seed. Flower is good for gardener and sometime for the bee too.

[@REDGardens]

That is an interesting way of looking at it. I’ll have to think about that.

[@zerellix]

Weeds are great for good insects

[@REDGardens]

I’d love to find more info on that.

[@zazugee]

i have bermuda grass in my garden ....

[@REDGardens]

That sounds like a tough one!

[@gardentogrill970]

I've heard it's possible to make a living barrier with the symphytum "blocking 14". But I haven't tried it yet. Has anyone here done that successfully?

[@REDGardens]

I have heard similar, but am sceptical it will keep out scutch grass and bindweed, or even creeping thistle. But haven't tried it.

[@BlackJesus8463]

We all know you secretly like weeding. Don't deny it.

[@REDGardens]

Ok, I do enjoy pulling some of those long weed roots out of the soil!

[@sagopalm279]

dollarweed is the bane of my exsistenc. one of the few things i truly hate

[@REDGardens]

Yeah, I know that kind of hate.

[@doinacampean9132]

Won't it be great if all those weeds would be edible?

[@REDGardens]

If we coddle eat bindweed shoots, feeding ourselves would be an easier task!

[@ganaderiasencilla5596]

And sadly, many weeds are edible but have no "value" on the market, even though they require little or no care and appear spontaneously.

[@REDGardens]

That is a shame.

[@eckeall2121]

Mmm sowthistle 🤤

[@REDGardens]

mmmm

[@deanwatt]

Just dab the problem weeds with glyphosate and you're done. Use it as directed and it's perfectly safe. My mother built the worlds largest board acre rosemary / herb farm from scratch and it worked perfectly well, spot spraying between the plants. You can literally spray the weeds one day and plant in the same place the next.

[@REDGardens]

That is an option for a lot of people. I try to avoid it, and can't use it under the terms of my licence. There is a lot of research out there showing how damaging it can be to the soil biology, and our health. I'm not sure how to balance that with the work to get rid other weeds without herbicides.

[@mcsweep7208]

weeds...nuke them from orbit...its the only way to be sure

[@REDGardens]

😂

[@jez-bird]

Stop fighting nature. Learn to work with it. This might mean looking at crops differently, at yields differently. At what a garden "should" look like. I know your a professional, but other professionals have found ways as well. You can mange the weeds, chop/drop frequently, instead of trying to eradicate them. This is ongoing free fertility - they are benefitial (and many edible), as long as you don't let them get big or go to seed. Use beneficial cover crops. The extra time you'll have no having to do all that digging will allow you do offset any minimal yield decreases in other ways. Plastic doesn't belong in the ground, stopping grass isn't worth the gradual leeching of microplastics, and bits and pieces left unintentionally.. By the way, even two layers of thick cardboard, and 4 inches of compost does not stop couch grass. Dowding isn't showing the whole story. He has volunteers weeding.. I really enjoy your videos, thank you!

[@ximono]

I don't think Dowding is being disingenuous. His volunteers do all sorts of work. I don't have any volunteers weeding myself, and having started from a very weedy lawn (mostly couch grass and ground elder), with nothing but cardboard and compost on top, my beds are now almost completely free of perennial weeds. It's only at the perimiter that I have to keep the weed pressure from outside at bay. A light raking with a hoe in early spring gets most of the annual weeds. From my experience, his method does work really well. Though I have transitioned to growing potatoes/etc through mypex (woven fabric) for a season or two before converting to permanent no dig beds, requiring much less compost (2"/5cm). Other than that, I agree with what you said. I harvest ground elder as food for me and for the compost pile. I have come to see it as a great resource! Same with dandelion, which I roast to make "coffee". Couch grass and buttercups are also allowed in my lawn, just not where I'm growing vegetables. Bindweed I have no love for. Unfortunately, the one I have isn't as edible as the one they use in Asia.

[@jez-bird]

​@@ximonofield and hedge binweed are edible, in fact I just had hedge bindweed for lunch, I harvest it often and love it, it's very closely related to the Asian one. Double check but I think they're both fully edible.

[@ximono]

@@jez-bird hm, I may have to do some more research. I just weeded/harvested a handful of bindweed. I'd love it if I could eat it!

[@willbass2869]

You need PIGS! Pigs will find the last rootlet in a pen... guaranteed!

[@REDGardens]

I use to think that, then saw how the weeds came back after the pigs were removed from the local farm plot.

[@Beelady400]

That’s what I thought, but the thistle grew up around them. They stayed away from the prickly buggers.

[@willbass2869]

@@Beelady400 You need GOATS ! Goats will find the last prickly sprout in a pen. Guaranteed! (Notice anything common in my response?)

[@BeeBeorn]

Weed..doent exist😊 There is chicken/rabbit food and mulch/compostgreens. So , i have no weeds..😉

[@REDGardens]

Cool!

[@fredrickvanolphen3299]

Thanks so much Bruce! Heads up on the Three Days of Darkness. Suzanna Noel just put out a word that the Three Days of Darkness is just days away. The 3DoD results from our dwarf twin sun, Nemesis, passing close to the sun and basically suckling up the photons. It's Biblical - Amos 8 and of course it was one of the plagues of Egypt. That would fit with April 7th-10th (but no year) that Kerry-Ann Gidden has gotten (but it could begin as early as the 4th). Seems too early to me but I believe Suzanna's words are true. So can it be that this is on us so soon? The Master has made it abundantly clear that Time's Up! If you see the mostly greenish northern lights don't waste time getting home. My recommendation for the 3DoD is to stay close to home, have a good supply of candles, food and water and seal up windows and doors for the full 72 hours. Stay inside and don't even answer the door or pay attention to outside sounds. (There may be some strange multidimensional occurances happening during this time - they'll crank CERN.) If this message seems odd to you, you may need to do some research. The 3DoD is very real and it will happen in the very near future. Kerry-Ann Gidden playlist: Northern Lights before the 3DoD: Sorry I'm heavily censored by YT anything with links is automatically deleted.

[@REDGardens]

I'm not a follower of Catholicism or any other religion, so not something that concerns me.

[@ximono]

Strange, I didn't notice anything

[@fredrickvanolphen3299]

@@ximono I guess that's why they also call it the Sign of Jonah. This is delayed but not sidestepped.

[@LOVEisTHEultimateLAW]

Smoke a bowl everytime he says Weed 😵‍💫

[@REDGardens]

Haha, enjoy!