Weeding garden in fall pays off in spring

Your Maine Garden

Earlier this month I visited Old Sturbridge Village — something I need to do every so often to recharge my spiritual batteries. I basked for an afternoon in the fantasy notion that time was standing still, that the pressures of the late 20th century were lifted from us all. How sweet it was to contemplate a world with low taxes, low debt, and the satisfaction of local industry meeting all one’s important needs.

What distresses me most about modern life is the phenomenon I call time inflation. I don’t know anyone who isn’t seriously behind in accomplishing the things that need to be done, and worse still, we seem to be steadily losing ground. It’s as if the day no longer contained 24 hours, as if the work value of a day had slipped to about 22 hours and 15 minutes. Somehow, an hour and 45 minutes have slipped away.

Procrastination and postponement are the only defenses we have against the incredible shrinking day, and nowhere are we more likely to practice these dubious skills than in the autumn garden. Awfully tempting it is to just leave the old weed patch for spring, instead of doing right by it this weekend. But wait a minute. Think about how nice it would be to get everything cleaned up this fall, get the soil charged up with some organic matter, and everything tilled under so that nature can work her wonders on last year’s tomato vines and dead marigolds.

Start by removing those monster weeds that have been growing all summer and autumn, being careful not to shake the seeds off. One overgrown pigweed plant can produce a thousand seeds to plague the garden next year. To be safe, don’t put seed-laden weed plants in the compost pile, unless you’re sure that the pile will heat up sufficiently to kill the tiny propagules.

If quack grass or witch grass has taken hold in your garden, now is the time to deal with it. Late fall and early winter can see a real proliferation of these stalwart weeds, as well as chickweed, sheep sorrel, clover, and dandelions. In short, if you have any perennial weeds in the garden, plants that are still green and healthy looking right now, get rid of them. Spray them with round-up herbicide, if it’s not against your religion, or dig them out with a fork. If the former, be careful not to hit any desirable plants, or rinse them thoroughly if you do. Always follow label directions carefully.

If you’re digging the weeds out by hand, use a spading fork to loosen the ground and pull the roots to the surface. This is hard work, but I find it quite addicting. Once the idea of a truly weed-free garden has entered the imagination, it’s hard to lay the fork down until that idea has become a reality.

If time and space permit, cover the now weed-free garden with newly fallen leaves (don’t worry about whether they are oak, maple, ash or beech; even pine needles are OK) and till them in with a fork or rototiller. The effect of this simple practice on next year’s soil is nothing short of miraculous. Tilth and fertility will improve beyond what you might have thought possible.

The final step might be to lay down a thick mulch of sludge, leaves, straw or grass clippings. Come spring, you can simply spread the mulch apart and insert seedlings or transplants into the crumbly soil beneath. This permanent mulch approach to gardening can lead to ultimate freedom from weeding and tilling if you are diligent about replenishing the mulch annually.

To look out on a garden plot that has been properly put to bed is one of the simpler joys of winter. And you’ll thank yourself in the spring, when you step into that well prepared space and discover how easy it is to get started again. When you think of it, the only way to achieve real victory over time inflation is to get ahead and stay ahead.

Michael Zuck of Bangor is a horticulturist and the NEWS’ garden columnist. Send inquiries to him at 2106 Essex St., Bangor, Maine, 04401.