Question:
I’m going to plant a small vegetable garden in April or May. Do I amend the ground with compost a month before planting, two weeks before planting or just before planting? Also, there is a field of weeds nearby that is a big headache. I’d like to wipe them out with a natural herbicide. Do you know of any?Answer:
- Vegetable gardens can be amended in any of the time frames mentioned above. Some gardeners add a layer of animal manure in the fall or early winter and then rototill it in the spring. Others gardeners amend the soil and plant all in one day while others like myself stagger it over a couple of weekends. This activity is a judgment call on your part based on the size of the garden and your personal time constraints.
- The amendments/compost should be mixed into the existing soil by a rototiller or with a shovel. They’re not effective in improving and or rejuvenating the nutrients, by just laying them on the soil surface. Instead, they function more like mulch, controlling weeds and conserving moisture.
- As far as the nearby field, I’m not sure of what types of weeds are growing; hence, controlling the unwanted vegetation is a difficult question to answer.
- The easiest solution is to plow the growth under before they go to seed. Another option is to mow them periodically and wait for them to die once the rainy season concludes. I’m assuming the field isn’t irrigated, so the unwanted vegetation will die in the late spring and shouldn’t return until it rains in the fall.
- You can find several organic herbicides that kill the actively growing vegetation or the dormant seeds but not necessarily both. There is a nonselective, natural citrus oil product for the actively growing weeds while corn gluten is used as an organic pre-emergent herbicide. They’re effective in killing the seasonal shallow rooted grasses and weeds while iffy with deep-rooted perennials such as Bermuda Grass.
- In your vegetable garden, hand cultivating and mulching is a very effective method of controlling weeds especially while they are tiny. I’d consult the nursery professional at your favorite garden center for a specific recommendation.
Question:
Recently, I divided my Agapanthus and replanted them. In retrospect, this new planting height looks too high, since some of the roots are still exposed. Is it too late to cut off some of the bottom of the root ball and/or replanted them deeper?Answer:
- It's not too late to replant the Agapanthus again. It will be several months before it gets too warm. You could do both; trim the roots or replant them. The choice is yours. That being said, having some of the roots exposed at the soil surface isn’t all that bad.
- Personally, I like to see the top of the roots exposed, as I always sure they’re never planted too deep. Also, I’d mulch the plants in May to shade the roots until a new canopy forms during the first growing season.