This is the Year to Start a Garden - Part 4 Weeding

Most are not aware of the importance of weeding throughout the dormant months of Winter. We usually think of Summer as being the season when we weed to concern ourselves with weeding, but the late weeks of Winter and the early days of Spring are an important time.

While we are spending many of our Winter days indoors, a steady growth of Winter weeds are hard at work carpeting our gardens.

Chickweed and henbit are two of the most common weeds, while pepper grass and a number of other Winter weeds can cause problems as the season progresses. When considering the problem of weeds, it is important to remember that it is far easier to eradicate weeds while they are still seedlings than it is to wait until they are large and require much time and labor.

Keep a close watch on your Spring garden. When seedlings begin to appear, use a good, well-sharpened hoe to scrape the surface of the soil and keep weed seedlings shaved off. It is also important to pull weeds that are growing close to established plants.

A number of weeding problems can be kept under control by tilling, raking and hoeing during the Winter months to the early days of Spring. When weeds are kept under control from the beginning of the season until the end of the growing season, it makes for a healthy appearance and also vastly improves the health and production of your garden.

John Coykendall, Master Gardener