Garden weed covering

Wheat Straw natural covering 

Weeding my yard is a task I often  leave for winter when the weeds die off and I can till them into the soil. Each spring I devise a new method to control the weeds between my vegetable plants. For years I have  used Weed fabric to establish a weed free vegetable plot. Frabric is easy and affective but this year I wanted to find a natural ground covering.

Pine Straw natural covering

 I choose Wheat Straw, Carolina pine straw and mustard green seeds.  A few weeks after my May planting I have come to a point where I need to weed all three plots.  While not as affective as weed fabric the natural coverings have helped control the weeds.

The Mustard Greens seed covering has slowed the grow of all the plants in the plot. The Mustard Greens seed plants have developed big leaves and will soon go to seed in the summer heat. I am hoping the other  plants in the plot will then develop as they compete with the mustard seed plants for dominance in the plot. This plot has produced very few weeds as the Mustard Green plants have covered every inch.

The vegtables in the Carolina Pine straw have developed well and the Carolina Pine straw has done a good job of keeping the weeds to a minuim. I still need to weed this plot before my early summer harvast and I need to replenish with another Carolina Pinestraw bail.

Mustard Greens Seed plants 

I feel the best option has been the Wheat Straw. While I have a few more weeds than the Pine Straw the vegetable plants in this plot have developed larger and quicker. My main attraction to wheat straw is I can return it back to my soil.

While the fabric has always been a reliable garden crutch I know a natural ground covering is my most sound option. While I am leaning to wheat straw I know my solution rest with the mustard green concept of finding competing plants.