Taking our lot back from the weeds.

This last weekend we continued our fight with the weeds. For future ventures, or anyone considering doing this yourself, remember to get as much free ground cover (from the city) as you can BEFORE you put the fence up. We thought we had enough ground cover, but you really never can have too much.

But thanks to some dedicated volunteers we were able to knock down all the weeds and we now have our space back! We had over 25 volunteers this last weekend who cleared the weeds, finished the back fence, and we even built some of the planter beds!

Sadly, Acres of Books on Long Beach Blvd. went out of business, but the city bought the property and needs to get rid of all the lumber! So, we were able to get free lumber from Larry and April from the LB Sustainability Office. Our beds will all be made from these recycled bookshelves. How great is that?

We are continuing to grow this space and hope to plant in mid April! Check out some more pictures of the build day at our Facebook Page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Long-Beach/5th-Street-Garden/282761278290

Weeds weeds everywhere!

With all the rains we've had, the weeds at the garden have grown through the mulch we initially laid down. Needless to say, they began to overrun the entrance. I learned a weeding trick from some fellow gardeners and put it to the test yesterday with the help of some volunteers.

First you water the weeds - Yes this seems counter intuitive, but trust me.

With the weeds damp, lay 8-10 layers of newspaper or pieces of cardboard (remember to remove the tape) over them. You can cut down the bigger weeds, but anything lower than 12" can just be pressed down. Place some mulch over the top to weigh it down. (We got this mulch free from Larry Rich of the Long Beach Sustainability Office)

After you have all the area with weeds covered, completely cover the newspaper with mulch. The newspaper will prevent the weeds from growing further, and will last for several months. The newspaper and the weeds will eventually decompose and become part of the mulch layer.




There you have it! A simple, easy, and organic way of weeding.

Thanks to Kim and Michael Stephens, fellow neighbor Glenna, and my wife for knocking this out!