Can I Cover The Garden?

[succeed]

I don't have time for the vegetable garden this year, but I want to resume next year.
I just finished pulling out all the weeds that have sprouted up in the past 2 months (some were ginormous), and now I want to keep more weeds from taking up residence.
I have the mat from an old trampoline. I'm thinking of covering the garden plot with this. It's got micro holes in it, so a little light and a little rain would get through it (but not much of either). But I'm thinking it might keep the majority of weeds out of the garden until next Spring. No, I know a few would probably manage to get through.
Would covering the garden hurt it in any way, or lessen the health of the soil? I'm not sure if worms and bugs would still want to live in the garden if it was covered (and hence, they would not be adding benefit to the garden). Or maybe they wouldn't mind?
Any reason I can't cover the garden until I'm ready to use it next Spring?

[Mars2012]

I don't think it would harm anything to cover. Since you are going to use it for vegetable gardening, might I suggest you plant some sort of "green manure" crop (check on the internet for what's available in your area)? You grow this in the summer and then plow it under while it is still green or shortly after it flowers. You would be adding organic matter and nutrients to the soil and you will end up with much better results. Make sure you don't let it go to seed or you will be opening up another can of worms. :razz:

[ChzPlz]

Any reason I can't cover the garden until I'm ready to use it next Spring?

Nope - no reason. You're essentially mulching the entire garden. I'd suggest you put down a layer of about four sheets of newspaper first, as it will block the light, preventing the weeds from growing. The trampoline mat would really just be keeping the newspaper in place. If the newspaper breaks down over the winter, thats fine - it helps the soil.

Google newspaper mulch for more info.

[succeed]

Since you are going to use it for vegetable gardening, might I suggest you plant some sort of "green manure" crop (check on the internet for what's available in your area)? You grow this in the summer and then plow it under while it is still green or shortly after it flowers. You would be adding organic matter and nutrients to the soil and you will end up with much better results. Make sure you don't let it go to seed or you will be opening up another can of worms. :razz:

Thanks for the suggestion. It makes a lot of sense. However, I have no idea where I'd find grain/legume seeds in the city. I called a big gardening centre, I called a feed store - nothing. When I google "seed store", all I find is pot.

I'm a newbie gardener. If there's a chance this stuff could go to seed and make things worse, then that's a big risk for me. I don't even know what going to seed looks like.

I googled for instructions about "green manure" crops and most of it was either geared towards big properties/farms or it addressed growers/gardeners who knew much more about gardening than I do. I would need a lot of very clear instruction.

Anyway, if there is an easy way to do it, if you can point me to instructions that I can't mess up, then please let me know. Thanks for your suggestion anyways.

[succeed]

I'd suggest you put down a layer of about four sheets of newspaper first, as it will block the light, preventing the weeds from growing. The trampoline mat would really just be keeping the newspaper in place.
Google newspaper mulch for more info.

Thanks for this suggestion. This is something I think I can manage without messing it up.

I'd appreciate it if you could please confirm my plan:
1) I could put 4 sheets of newspapers down now.
2) I was reading that it is good to put wood chips on top, so I could sprinkle on some of those.
3) I could put the trampoline mat over, just to keep everything down so nothing blows away.
4) In the spring, I could top up with triple mix (cause the garden is a bit too low in places).
5) I could put 1 layer of newspaper down, punch some holes, and plant through the holes (this would keep weeds from appearing, but give enough room for the plants to grow).
Step 5 could be repeated every year.

Please confirm that I've understood everything correctly. Thanks so much.

[Portwest]

I second the idea to use a newspaper (http://www.ehow.com/how_5153675_properly-use-newspaper-mulch.html) mulch (http://www.veggiegardeningtips.com/newspaper-garden-mulch/). I’ve used it in the past and it worked great at keeping the weeds away. If I remember correctly, wetting it down well made a lot of difference. I’ve seen people put straw on top as well.

(I don’t know about the trampoline mat. You'd think it would attract earwigs.)

[succeed]

I second the idea to use a newspaper (http://www.ehow.com/how_5153675_properly-use-newspaper-mulch.html) mulch (http://www.veggiegardeningtips.com/newspaper-garden-mulch/). I’ve used it in the past and it worked great at keeping the weeds away. (I don’t know about the trampoline mat. You'd think it would attract earwigs.)

Ah, good point - thank you. Maybe I'll just weight it down with some rocks.

[succeed]

Since you are going to use it for vegetable gardening, might I suggest you plant some sort of "green manure" crop (check on the internet for what's available in your area)? You grow this in the summer and then plow it under while it is still green or shortly after it flowers. You would be adding organic matter and nutrients to the soil and you will end up with much better results. Make sure you don't let it go to seed or you will be opening up another can of worms. :razz:

I couldn't get this idea out of my mind, even though I was having such a difficult time trying to figure out the details. So, I kept searching, and yes, I think I've found enough information to give it a try. For any other newbie gardeners who want to know a bit more about green manure gardening, here's some of what I found:

Here is a more user-friendly article about "green manure" gardening. It helped me to decide to use buckwheat and oats. And gave me some advice about how long to let them grow before tilling them under:
http://www.manytracks.com/Garden/GreenManure.htm

From there I searched for oat sellers in my province, and found a seed catalog located in "farm country" - a little less than an hour drive from me (so I can pick up in person, if I want to) - OSC Seeds in Waterloo. And yes, they even have little one pound bags of seed:
http://www.oscseeds.com/index.php

And this little article has a great table, from which I figured out that I can plant buckwheat now (June), till it under, and then plant oats in the Fall:
http://www.bountea.com/articles/ccmanure.html

Then I'll till the oats under and cover everything with newspaper mulch for the winter.

I still have a few details to work out, but I think at least now I have the core of what I need to know.
Thanks for your suggestion. This should be an adventure (to say the least) for a newbie like me.

[ChzPlz]

I still have a few details to work out, but I think at least now I have the core of what I need to know.
Thanks for your suggestion. This should be an adventure (to say the least) for a newbie like me.

Looks like fun - post back and tell us how it worked!

[Mars2012]

Boy, you've done a lot of research! Your persistence will pay off. I've been gardening for almost twenty years, and I have to say the best thing you can do for your garden is to improve soil structure, that means giving it lots of organic matter. I used to add bales of peat moss to my vegetable plot every year and finally realized it wasn't a good idea. It acidifies the soil, contains little nutrients, and doesn't really help in the long run.

Do you have room for a compost bin? That's a good way to get rid of kitchen scraps (make sure no meat or you'll attract varmints) and you'll get some nice rich compost in a few months. Make sure select a convenient location and where it gets sun to help it "cook". Best of luck to you.

[succeed]

Looks like fun - post back and tell us how it worked!

Believe it or not, after all that figuring out, I learned that the chemicals from a pressure-treated deck are a hazard that should not be next to a vegetable garden. And seeing as I have plans to build a deck later this summer, some further decisions were needed.

I looked into building a fully cedar deck (you can see my other thread about that), but the better idea proved to be to just move the vegetable garden elsewhere (seeing as it's dormant right now anyway). So, next spring we'll break ground in a new part of the yard, and start to build up the soil in that area, and then plant vegetables there.

So the existing area that was the vegetable garden (for all of one year), will now go back to being part of the lawn.

[succeed]

Do you have room for a compost bin? That's a good way to get rid of kitchen scraps (make sure no meat or you'll attract varmints) and you'll get some nice rich compost in a few months. Make sure select a convenient location and where it gets sun to help it "cook". Best of luck to you.

Thanks for the suggestion.
I'm a newbie gardener (I didn't even know what mulch was until 10 days ago), so the idea of a compost bin hadn't even crossed my mind yet. Right now I'm thinking through the idea of a rain barrel (I figure that's a major step forward). Maybe I can gradually wrap my head around the idea of a compost bin.

You guys are gonna turn me into an avid gardener yet :)

[TotallyKiller]

Thanks for the suggestion.
I'm a newbie gardener (I didn't even know what mulch was until 10 days ago), so the idea of a compost bin hadn't even crossed my mind yet. Right now I'm thinking through the idea of a rain barrel (I figure that's a major step forward). Maybe I can gradually wrap my head around the idea of a compost bin.

You guys are gonna turn me into an avid gardener yet :)

If you get a compost bin, make sure you try and put your scraps in as small as possible (if they are clean, I'd suggest cutting them into small pieces before putting them in) and periodically turn the compost (just using a shovel) and add some hot water. This will really help the process speed up.