Last fall, following several things I read online, I mulched over my raised beds at the end of the season. Also following what I read on the never wrong internet, I used straw as a mulch. Now...in an effort to save money, I didn't buy the nice chopped straw/hay that we use in our chicken coop...rather, I bought a few bales of the straw we spread out at hunting camp to control mud/dust between trailers, or that you would use for outdoor fall decorations.
Well...that cheaper bale type straw was not seed free...and it looks like all I did by clearing off the beds and turning them was cause those seeds to sprout.
Now...since I covered up 5.5 beds with black trash bags to bake for a few weeks, I'm hoping that maybe this won't happen as soon as I pull the trash bags and plant. If it does, then the war is on. At least in those beds, I'm putting in plants I started inside. I let these sprouts go so far because the reason I left the bed uncovered was that I planted carrot seeds in it, and when I saw green, I was hoping it was the carrots.
No such luck.
Nothing much I can do now. Since the carrots haven't sprouted yet, I will probably turn this bed one more time, and then try to plant something. Keeping the weeds out is usually a summer long challenge anyways.
Next fall though, I think I'm going to be a little more careful about the mulch I use.
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