Or really keeping the weeds out.
I just came in from weeding the garden.
Mostly flowers this year, but still need to keep the weeds out.
One side I am trying to smother out some herbs.After about 10 years I have finally built some more raised beds around some rayrock. Have to mow around them, might just as well put the rayrock to some use. But all those years the herbs have really tried to take over and spread. I lay down cardboard and go out in the woods and rake up leaves and put on top of the card board to hold it in place. I get big pieces from a body shop that I deliver parts too. These can be 6 feet wide by 10 feet long. Those hoods are big.
I have 4-5 raised beds for herbs all ready. Need to add about 4-5 more to get everything out of the garden.
A wise man once told me "Never plant a bigger garden than your wife can hoe." ffcheesy
Weeds and grass are the bane to my pasture garden. I do OK on smaller plots, but this one's 2500 sq. ft., and you just can't. I've tried hoeing it to keep up, works for the first month while I'm still planting it out. I use grass clippings to suppress, but... Best I can do is take a pass through with the weed eater about once every 2 weeks. I clip a lot of crops that way, unfortunately... so far I've found melding the 2 techniques to be the most successful. I'll weed around the plants/rows by hand/hoe and try to spread some grass mulch around the base. Then use the hoe and power tools to keep the areas between the rows cleared. Far from perfect, but getting better every year.
I'm not above taking the backpack sprayer on a pass through, either. But even in concentrated form, that magic juice gets pricey. Tried the vinegar route, waste of time and money, and stunk to high heaven! Prolly would keep the deer out, I'd wager.
Up here I see the amish farm markets planting in plastic coverings, mostly clear, some black.
I just have a very small garden.
my raised bed I have an easier time controlling the weeds, mostly because I planted my herbs too close together and they shade the weeds out.
Yesterday i cut my cilantro down and laid it out to dry, I don't need to grow more for a long time.
I neglectid to tie my tomatos up and now they are spread too far to do it. unfortunately I have bermuda grass and crab grass invadeing them and my peppers.
The only way I have been able to control them is chemical warfare. I tried a thick layer of rotted hay and its not helping.
No definite results yet. My son has a lawn care business and I am trying a thick cover of last falls leaves to suppress weeds
I have done many things to fight the weeds and overgrowth. I use a pretty thick landscape fabric that lasts many years. I have a strip of corrugated tin made into a ring and held with screws. I place it on the fabric and with a butane torch I just touch the flame to the fabric inside the ring and I can make nice consistent holes in the fabric. The fabric is permeable but doesn't allow weeds to grow.
I have also used biodegradable plastic to put between rows of veggies. These coverings are great in that they stop the weeds and hold in the moisture. I take up the fabric every spring and I only have to weed where the circles are. Then I till, add the compost, till again and then cover it right back up.
In flower beds I use the English gardener method. I have a DR Leaf Vacuum set up and it makes piles of shredded leaves. When the leaf is piled on the flower bed and then wetted, it compacts itself. Moisture makes it through, it holds moisture underneath and weeds don't see any sun to grow. The water also is turned to tea as it filters through the leaf mat. Happy plants.
In the past I also ran straw through the shredder part of my wood chipper to make a dense mat similar to the leaves. I used this in my garden. You simply plow it under and till the next spring.