Weed Free Gardening.

South Texas · #1 08-30-2008, 10:19 AM

Years ago, started my own worm farm. Built a 2' X 8' platform- 3/4" plywood w/ 2 X 6" sides, sitting on 3' ft' 2 X4' legs. Each leg was sitting in a 1 gal. coffee can, filled with water. This kept the ants out. I cut a piece of old carpet to fit over the 2' X 8' worm farm surface. Straight rabbit or cow manure was added, with a Lb. of Red Wiggler worms. I would sprinkle the carpet every few days, which would keep the soil dark & moist. When the carpet was lifted, 1,000's of worms was visible. Point is, the old carpet done a perfect job at water retention, and keeping the soil from drying out. Due to mass multiplying, I had to build 2 more beds, had over a couple million head (worms) at on time.
Later I read where some strange people would cover their entire vegetable garden area with old, free carpet. I seen the pics,.. it was awesome! After the plot was properly prepped; organic compost, Epsom salt, whole ground cornmeal, molasses, etc, old carpet was then rolled out, enough to cover the entire plot. X's & holes would be cut in rows, depending on the garden blueprints. Use a sharp razor knife.
End result, no weeds, no grit on the greens, walking & kneeling on carpet to work the garden. If you throw worms out before covering, you have got the perfect Garden. Oh Yeah!
Carpet Installation Compinies has to pay to dispose of old carpet... they would be glad to give it to you. Tell them the area you want to cover, wait for the big rolls, in a color you want. NOT Purple! Well, whatever floats your boat.
Live outside the box.

BigBudBalls · #2 08-31-2008, 02:20 PM

Damn! Glad I read this. Has a big piece of carpet I was getting ready to toss.

I like the 'Ant Mote'

A carpeted garden. I can see the yuppies now!

(me? red shag! I'd pimp that garden. Already got my Hoe!

)

Quote:

Originally Posted by South Texas

Years ago, started my own worm farm. Built a 2' X 8' platform- 3/4" plywood w/ 2 X 6" sides, sitting on 3' ft' 2 X4' legs. Each leg was sitting in a 1 gal. coffee can, filled with water. This kept the ants out. I cut a piece of old carpet to fit over the 2' X 8' worm farm surface. Straight rabbit or cow manure was added, with a Lb. of Red Wiggler worms. I would sprinkle the carpet every few days, which would keep the soil dark & moist. When the carpet was lifted, 1,000's of worms was visible. Point is, the old carpet done a perfect job at water retention, and keeping the soil from drying out. Due to mass multiplying, I had to build 2 more beds, had over a couple million head (worms) at on time.
Later I read where some strange people would cover their entire vegetable garden area with old, free carpet. I seen the pics,.. it was awesome! After the plot was properly prepped; organic compost, Epsom salt, whole ground cornmeal, molasses, etc, old carpet was then rolled out, enough to cover the entire plot. X's & holes would be cut in rows, depending on the garden blueprints. Use a sharp razor knife.
End result, no weeds, no grit on the greens, walking & kneeling on carpet to work the garden. If you throw worms out before covering, you have got the perfect Garden. Oh Yeah!
Carpet Installation Compinies has to pay to dispose of old carpet... they would be glad to give it to you. Tell them the area you want to cover, wait for the big rolls, in a color you want. NOT Purple! Well, whatever floats your boat.
Live outside the box.

South Texas · #3 09-02-2008, 01:35 PM

Red may be OK, but wouldn't advise it. Red causes aggressive behavior. Bulls attack, Politician's want to walk down each row, posing for camera's that don't exist. But that is not the problem. After a couple rains, the red fades to pink, and all the queers come out, licking things in your garden. Steven Tyler steadily sings "Pink", while your inflatable goat gets the ass end of the deal. The sight is quite horrific! At least that is what I read in the latest Reader's Digest, in the Monastery where I live. I'll pass on the Goat Cheese.... Thank You very much.

surryman · #4 09-02-2008, 06:43 PM

G'day ,my mum used to do this with a wool blend ,underneath this she would add a layer of pea straw,then water in,then she'd place carpet slabs over,by doing this she alone could move/ re place to her desire.

South Texas · #5 09-03-2008, 12:02 PM

How can anybody compete with experience? "The smart man learns from his mistakes. The wise man learns from another's mistake, or ideas. The use of wool is above & beyond the use of carpet. "Mum knows a thing or two about insulation & what is 'perfect & what will make do. My carpet rates 30%, while the wool blanket is 100%. Pea straw, She's adding nitrogen to the soil. She knows a lot more than these so-called "Master Gardeners." Hats off to Mum, from South Texas!

Quote:

Originally Posted by surryman

G'day ,my mum used to do this with a wool blend ,underneath this she would add a layer of pea straw,then water in,then she'd place carpet slabs over,by doing this she alone could move/ re place to her desire.

overfiend · #6 09-03-2008, 12:31 PM

i like the idea of the carpet for the worm farm. years ago we would use that black tarp looking stuff and cover the entire garden then make holes where we'd plant and that kept weeds down but was a pain in the ass at the end of season. so my grandfather came over and says get that cover off the garden and spread your used grass clippins all over except for a few inches around plants this year we did and no weeds. awsome idea the oldtimers know whats up even better this fall after harvest all i have to do is turn all the dried grass clippings into the soil and it will help amend for next year.

South Texas · #7 09-04-2008, 01:01 PM

Just make sure no grass seeds are in the clippings. My clippings are done by cows... but the grass clippings are really a LOT better than carpet, leaves are great also.

overfiend · #8 09-04-2008, 03:50 PM

i got a lot of oak trees and the leaves rot slower than other trees what other leaves would be good for this, maple?

South Texas · #9 09-08-2008, 04:03 AM

Any & all natural plant life would be good. Examine the floor of the forest sometime, dig/scratch down an inch or so. Naturally, in good moist areas, it takes 3 years for the termites, worms & micros to break down the leaves to a very rich, dank soil. The "leaves" them self is basically just carbon, but it's the base of the medium. Using a mulch-er on the leaves speeds up the decay, and keep the compost pile damp so the worms don't choke. Chem ferts kill all the worms & micros. Molasses highly speeds up the decaying process, because the micros love the nutes, and multiplies real fast. Turning over the pile every couple weeks also helps to break down the plant matter. whole ground/stone ground corn meal is very good for the worms & soil, also. Wood ashes/pot ash is very good for the pile & plants, but not too much. Worms don't like milk products, or citrus products.

Dfunk · #10 09-08-2008, 10:12 PM

Very informative read.+ rep