Saturday, August 11, 2018

Cover Crops versus Nutsedge

This seasons (2018) garden has developed a new "problem"--nutsedge. The plants produce tubers fairly quickly, so pulling out the plant is typically insufficient to kill it off.

My approach to weeds this season has been to try to smother them with cover crops, which can be easier said than done. When I can get the cover crops established, e.g. white clover or sudangrass, they take off and can easily outcompete things like nutsedge. If they don't get established, the nutsedge and other weeds takes over.

Another problem I have to solve with this approach is mowing or trimming back the cover crops stuns them and lets the weeds start to pop up again. If you don't cut the cover crops back, though, they'll end up swallowing the plants you're trying to grow.

In areas where the cover crops dominate, there's no nutsedge. The plants are stunted, then die off. So my current approach is:

  • don't disturb the soil (that lets the weeds get established)
  • bury/smother cover crops to make planting space

We need a border/buffer zone around the garden where it blends into the regular lawn, so reformatting the garden will start in the fall probably.

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