How To Get Rid Of Bed Full Of Weeds And Vines?

Q: I have a large raised bed that has become overgrown with weeds. Morning glory vines are everywhere! What is the best way to rid the bed of weeds & vines? I’m not going to plant anything there this year. 

A: There is no way to get them out in one fell swoop. Morning glory seeds can remain viable in the soil for 50 years. So the only way to deal with them is to pull or kill the seedlings every year before they flower to avoid depositing more in the soil seed bank. When I was a kid on the farm, my spring and summer task in our big vegetable garden was to use a hoe to remove small weeds before they set seed. If you’d rather not hoe or pull, you could spray young weeds with glyphosate (Roundup). Just be vigilant to get to them before they flower. Some gardeners might suggest that solarizing the plot, heating it under plastic all summer, would be the solution to your problem. But I can guarantee morning glory and bermuda seeds will survive summer heat in a Georgia garden. Keep a sharp eye out!