I had a vegetable garden for years. Keeping up with the ever-present weeds was always a challenge and my four children could tell you how much they ‘loved’ helping. I remember them vowing never to have a vegetable garden!

When the children grew up and moved away, the garden kind of went away as well - it was more work than I had time for by myself. The garden went away, but the desire to have one didn’t. Nothing compares to eating fresh vegetables - still warm from a fresh picking. I remembered them well.

Finding the Right Garden Plan

Last year I found an article in Mother Earth News called, Easy Garden Anyone Can Make. It boasted about a way to have a weed free garden. Well, that was almost laughable, but I was intrigued at the same time. I read the article over and over…what if it worked exactly as they said? I could almost taste the fresh vegetables...and no weeds?

The decision was made and we began. I will say that it was a ton of work - more than we thought it would be, but we did get it done in one weekend. Cost wise - we invested about $500 into the set up. That included compost, garden soil, mulch and the rabbit fencing we bought to surround our garden.

Setting Up the Garden and Following the Plan

We knew the spot we chose did not contain healthy soil. It was mostly sand so we did go one step further and marked off and tilled only the beds (not the paths) - adding good compost and extra garden soil to enrich it. A layer of newspaper went down next. That done, we used the best quality weed-free compost we could find to top each bed - then mulched the pathways. It was beautiful to look at.

The neighbors were not only skeptical about the possibility of a weed free garden - but actually went one step further - and voiced the thoughts we were thinking. With ten - 8 foot by 36 inch garden plots and mulched walking paths in between, it looked like we had our own cemetery in the back yard!

No Weeds!

We waited for the weeds to begin. So did the neighbors! Imagine our surprise and yes, JOY when they never came. In the entire growing season, I think I only hand picked one small dishpan of stray weeds - maybe a half of a handful a week!

I picked baskets of fresh veggies daily throughout the summer months. We ate our fill and I canned the rest - enough to feed us for the entire winter. It was truly amazing. With the garden ‘plots’ accessible from all sides, we were able to plant more in a smaller space and - even with a first try, I’d have to say the garden was a huge success.

Weed Free and Watering Free

This year - season two - was much less work to prepare. We mixed two top quality composts and spread it on top of each bed about 2 inches thick and added a layer of mulch on the paths. The garden was ready in one afternoon. One thing that will be added this year is an irrigation system of some kind. I can clearly see the benefit of such a system and look forward the convenience of not only a weed free garden, but a watering free garden!

The neighbors are not laughing this year - they are watching and waiting to see what the second season brings - already asking what I will be planting. And yes, history has a way of repeating itself. My children all have vegetable gardens today! One of them even put in the weed free garden. My grandchildren now pick good, healthy vegetables - not weeds!