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Kick the Habit: A Dirty Dozen of Common Gardening Bad Habits You Need to Kick

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Bad Habit #11

Landscape Fabric  

It’s a myth that landscape fabric prevents weeds.  Yes, they may initially, however, the fabric, once down, tends to stay in place season after season and that’s where trouble starts.  Issues include:

Weed seeds blow on top and germinate in the mulch layer sinking their roots down thru the fabric making it/them hard to remove. 

The roots of desired plants grow across and on top of the barrier.  Thus, they are not as deep in the soil as they should be.  The lack of deeply penetrating roots make the plant easily toppled by high winds and very susceptible to drought.  We want to encourage, not discourage, deep root growth. 

Landscape fabric prevents plants from spreading and naturalizing in your bed.  Worse, weed barriers are also sometimes impregnated with herbicides and fertilizers.

A major drawback of the practice is that it inhibits soil building.  When mulch is applied over the fabric it can’t decompose and contribute to building the health of the soil beneath it.  Many of the old weed fabrics aren’t water and gas permeable leaving the soil beneath dry and compacted.  This starves plants for water and nutrients and results in greatly reduced soil food web activity, noticeable by a lack of insect activity and earthworms.   When used on areas that hold on to excess water and become soggy, the weed barrier can trap water beneath it, creating a swampy mess, and a perfect breeding ground for some noxious weeds (e.g. field horsetail). 

A final observation is that many are plastic films, and you know what we think of plastic!!  They eventually break down and you find bits of plastic everywhere.  Landscape fabric is really hard to remove once it starts breaking down and depositing microplastics in the soil.  The long-term implications of the excess of microplastics in our ecosystems are yet to be fully defined, but we suspect that they are not good. 

Kick the Habit There is no magic solution that will eliminate weeds.  Apply mulch, more mulch, and more mulch still.  Wood chips, leaves, other organic materials such as pine straw and compost all will do a better job while eventually breaking down and building your soil.  Even stones and pea gravel are better.  Layer your mulch 2-3″ thick and very few weeds will get through.  Better yet, use a living mulch of native ground covers to outcompete the weeds and reduce the need to add brown mulch each season.  In summary, landscape fabric offers a short-term gain in return for a long-term problem.

Kick the Habit: A Dirty Dozen of Common Gardening Bad Habits You Need to Kick

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From the EGT’s Sustainable Landscaping Series, “The Ecological Benefits of the Not So Perfect Yard”

Bad Habit #10 – Tilling

  • Don’t till seasonally.  If the condition of the soil bed requires it, till once at the beginning of the bed set up and then let it do its thing naturally.
  • Tilling brings up weed seeds that are buried in the soil and setting them free to germinate and do their worst.
  • Tilling destroys soil structure and small microorganisms that are a part of the living soil structure.  This means they are unable to produce nitrogen that benefits your plants.
  • Tilling can create a thick, dense layer of compacted soil known as hardpan.  Hardpan can restrict the flow of nutrients and water through the soil. 
  • Tilling releases carbon into the atmosphere that you should keep in your soil.

Kick the Habit Cover your soil with layers of mulch. Wood chips in particular, placed ON TOP OF THE SOIL, are an invaluable resource.  They are generally available for free and are used by organic gardeners to mulch their gardens. The chips eventually break down and feed the soil increasing its fertility, water retention, and the beneficial organisms in the food web.  Green mulch (plants) is even better.

Kick the Habit: A Dirty Dozen of Common Gardening Bad Habits You Need to Kick

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From the EGT’s Sustainable Landscaping Series, “The Ecological Benefits of the Not So Perfect Yard”

Bad Habit #9 – Not Being Waterwise

As our drought across great swaths of our country last summer makes clear, water conservation efforts are critical.  We frequently go from one extreme to another: either too much or not enough.   Acres of water guzzling lawn, non-native plant species, inappropriate watering habits, all contribute to water scarcity issues.  Excessive impervious cover contributes to stormwater runoff which leads to water pollution and undercharged groundwater tables.
KICK THE HABIT

Reduce storm water runoff and keep our waters clean with the installation of green infrastructure including reducing impervious surfaces, grading all areas away from your house at a gentle slope, and capturing rainwater on site by installing rain gardens/barrels.  Your goal should be to keep as much rainwater on site as possible. 

Remove as much lawn as possible and replace it with gardens filled with native plants.  Irrigate only when necessary but do keep in mind that even native plants need supplemental water as they get established (during the first 2 years).  Be sure to mulch properly but remember that green mulch is the best mulch.   Choose the right plant for the right place, matching your planting choice with the site conditions.   

RESOURCES

MCIA Shredding Event This Saturday, October 8th

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The Mercer County Improvement Authority will be sponsoring a County Document Shredding event this Saturday, October 8th from 9 am – 12 noon.  It will be held at 641 South Broad Street, Trenton, Lot 4, across the Mercer County Administration Building.  

A maximum of eight boxes and/or bags of paper per vehicle will be accepted.  This event is for paper only, no household chemicals will be accepted.

This Shred Day is open to Mercer County residents only; no commercial businesses will be allowed. 
Proof of residency (driver’s license) will also be required.

For more information call 609-278-8086 or visit www.mcianj.org.

The final Ewing Township Shred Day of 2022 will be Saturday, October 15 from 9 am – 1 pm at the Municipal Building.

It’s Scarecrow Time Again!  Ewing’s Annual Scarecrow Scavenger Hunt Returns!

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Ewing Township’s All-Around Town Scarecrow Scavenger Hunt is back again this year for the 4th year running. 

Mayor Bert Steinmann said that the previous years’ events had seen great success, with hundreds of people participating and sending in photos of people on the hunt. “People love scavenger hunts,” he said. “It’s a great way to learn more about the community, for businesses to gain recognition, and for families and kids to have a great time on the hunt.” 

The All-Around Town Scavenger Hunt arose from the Ewing Green Team’s original Scarecrow Contest, where residents would create their scarecrows and bring them to the Ewing Senior and Community Center to display and compete for People’s Choice prizes at the Annual Trunk or Treat event. 

The Scavenger Hunt, sponsored by the Ewing Green Team, Ewing Arts Commission and Art Has No Boundaries, was born of the idea to involve and promote local businesses, as well as residents and organizations, and through some innovative clues, help hunters to learn more about the community.   It lasts almost the whole month of October, beginning on October 1st, and ending on Oct 27th at 4:30 pm.  Winners will be announced at the Recreation Department’s Trunk or Treat event on Saturday, Oct 29th.

In years past, each scarecrow had its own unique riddle which would lead the way to its location.  This year, the group is trying something new with picture clues.  Hunters must track down each of the 36 scarecrows on the ballot and enter its name in the form.  The more scarecrows you find, the more entries you get into the Grand Prize drawings. 

We’re keeping many of the prizes from last year and adding some new surprises. You still get to vote for your 2 (two) favorite scarecrows – a favorite residential winner and a favorite business/organization will each get $ prizes. And the Green Team will still select the one scarecrow that best ‘upcycles’ and/or uses recycled materials. And we will still have a raffle winner from all the hunters’ entries!  

Also returning this year is our very own Stan By Mee, our scarecrow that will be at 4 different Ewing locations during the month.   Each week in October, on Sunday, check the Ewing Green Team’s Facebook page for a new clue for “Where’s Stan?” Once you find him at his new location; take a selfie of someone in your ‘hunting party’ and email the Ewing Green Team at ewinggreenteam@gmail.com for a chance to be entered into the Stan By Mee drawing.

“We love Halloween,” stated Scarecrow Chairwoman Lisa Feldman. “Celebrating the fall holidays and the arrival of cooler weather with our Scarecrow Scavenger Hunt is a lot of fun for us as well as our participants.   Scavenger hunters regularly send us great comments about how much they enjoy figuring out the clues and finding our scarecrows.   We believe it’s a fun time for scarecrow hosts and hunters alike and a wonderful way to celebrate the Ewing community.”

The All-Around Town Scarecrow Scavenger Hunt begins on Saturday, October 1st and ends on Thursday, October 27th at 4:30 pm, giving you plenty of time to hunt them all down.  Winners will be announced at the Trunk or Treat event at the Ewing Senior and Community Center, 999 Lower Ferry Road on Saturday, Oct 29th at 4:30 pm.  Contest rules and ballots can be found online at https://ewinggreenteam.org/scarecrow-scavenger-hunt-rules/.  Paper ballots can also be picked up at the Ewing Community and Senior Center (ESCC) at 999 Lower Ferry Road or Hollowbrook Community Center at 320 Hollowbrook Drive.

So, come on out and enjoy the hunt!  It’s a great way to meet your neighbors, perhaps discover some businesses you weren’t aware of, and enjoy our community.  Challenge yourself to find our ‘crows, earn chances for a variety of prizes, and begin your autumn adventure.