I hate weeds. In most gardens they are a nuisance. In my community garden they are overwhelming. I garden in an extremely old Victory Garden remnant that might be the oldest community garden in Ohio.
That means the weeds have been there for so long they have naturalized to the place and the seed bank it unreal. Last year I put a third of it in Sorghum X Sudangrass as an experiment to see how well it would help smother weeds. I did not see a decrease in weed germination after that but I did find the ground easier to work this year in that spot. The plow does spread the soil around so that did not help with weeds.
Here is what I have to deal with. This is the next door plot. The owner has not done any work yet.
cocklebur, bindweed, thistle, lamb’s quarters, morning glory, smartweed, ragweed, etc…….
It is all about two feet tall and going to seed. Here is a better picture to give you an idea of the weeds.
I tilled residue under after mowing last week to make a seedbed.
Normally I would have planted buckwheat in this spot, just like what was done at the Logan Community Garden last year, but I had some winter rye left over from last year and that is what I used.
One patch of thistle in the middle of this pic needs dug out. I will mow the rye to keep it from going to seed through the season.
The rye cover crop will smother weeds and add organic matter to the soil. It will be much easier to manage and frequent mowing will eliminate annual weeds as well.
