Dear Curiosity Journal,
I’m not going to lie. Our gardens have gotten a little bit out of control this spring, but with Annie’s help, we were able to bring them back into order this week. There is just so much to do and so many weeds to pull. Entering our third season of no-till practices, we have definitely noticed an increase in weeds. Although we achieved a significant reduction for a few seasons by laying down cardboard and clean compost, we have no way to stop weed seeds from entering the gardens through the air, and you know how much wind we get up here. Flying seeds like dandelion and thistle are particularly prolific. We’re doing another major reset on many of our gardens, bringing in new compost, landscape fabric, or mulch to try to suppress the weeds, but are still spending much more time weeding than we have in the last few seasons. I’m still an advocate for no-till gardening, as it has many other benefits, but recognize there is a limit to how long you can keep weed seeds at bay. Mother Nature’s tenacious task of keeping the ground covered will always, eventually take over. There is no magic wand for weeds, but you can buy yourself some time, which we’ve been learning is about 3 years.
~Joy
