[evoke]

Hello all,
Does anyone know how farmers control their weed problem when they are growing vegtables. I have a small garden of vegatables but they are overrun by weeds now. I can not imagine a farmer weeding a plot of an acre.I am constantly out every weekend weeding the garden.

Is there anything i can learn from the farmers on how to grow my vegtables that will beat the weeds before the weeds beat my vegtables.

do the farmers plant their vegtables early then most so they have a head start before the weeds?

Do they spray liquid that kills the weed seeds before they put down their vegtables?

Do they put their vegtable seeds very close together so that it does not give the weeds a place to grow.

I also put fertilizer 10-10-20 in the ground. That probably helped the weeds grow even faster to beat my vegtables.

Thanks for any help.

[Sive]

I really haven't a clue, but knowing what a struggle it is to fight weeds in an ordinary garden, my guess would be that commercial growers use chemicals. That's why it's good to eat home-grown vegetables. You know exactly what has gone into the growing of them.

[michael brenock]

the commercial vegetable growers use approved chemicals at approved rates to prevent and control weeds.
michael brenock horticultural advisor (retired)

[Rach]

Some of the Organic growers plant through sheets of plastic with holes in it.
You could also use the weed supressing membrane but it is quite expense.
One farm I was on had black plastic silage wrap stretched over the beds in the field..
These are more commercial options.

Did you try covering your soil before you plant to limit the weeds.
Followed by mimimum disturbance of the soil when planting and during growth.

A flame gun can also work quickly on the weeds at the start.

Best of luck,

Rach