On Sat, 5 Jul 2008 10:55:35 -0700, "Eigenvector"
wrote:

On average, how much time would you say you devote per week pulling weeds
from the garden? I say per week, rather than per day because I used to pull
weeds on the farm - but I don't live on a farm anymore and I'm certainly not
going to devote 10 hours a day doing it.

My experiences pulling weeds in the fields made me completely apathetic
about them. However recently I've got it in my head that I might be able to
keep the garden clean without resorting to chemical warfare - but it just
doesn't seem to help. Dandilions, Catsear, Rye, and two others that I'm
actually gonna post an ID on here shortly are overrunning my garden even if
I do pull weeds for an hour a day.

How do you keep the weeds down? Pulling them up, covering them over with
mulch, weapons of mass destruction, or do you just not worry about it
anymore?

Side question:

What is the best method for controlling rye grass growing up inside a clump
of something like rosemary or lavender?


Keep weeds down by using mulch. There are still some weeds, but the
mulch can greatly help with water conservation. The best way to rid
the rye grass is pull it out, blade by blade, after a good soaking
rain. I probably spend 30 minutes a week pulling weeds, a bit more
time now than other times of the year.