Question about potatoes and landscape weeds - Ask Extension
Hello,
I have a couple of things that I would like some advice about. First of all, I've got some harvest Moon potatoes that are just starting to c...
Knowledgebase
Question about potatoes and landscape weeds #869855
Asked May 23, 2024, 9:29 PM EDT
Hello,
I have a couple of things that I would like some advice about. First of all, I've got some harvest Moon potatoes that are just starting to come out of the ground. Eventually I will need to mound them and I wanted to ask about the best thing to use. I live in Roseville and there is a free compost site, would that be a good option? Is all compost pretty much the same thing?
Also, I've got some areas in my yard that are being taken over by weeds. All around the house I have river rock that has a barrier underneath the rock. Over the years, I think there's enough leaves and dust that weeds are able to live above the barrier. Weed killer would be the easiest option but I would rather use something that was considered safer than roundup type things. Can you recommend something? Also, we have an area behind the garage that has limestone where we parked our boat. That has weeds also.
The 1st picture is the area with river rock in the 2nd photo is the limestone area.
Thanks for your help!
Owen
Ramsey County Minnesota
Expert Response
I think pure compost may be too rich to use alone. You can dig up soil from the surrounding area to mound the potatoes or, at least, mix your native soil with the compost. As far as the weeds, you can use a broadleaf weed killer but the grass that is growing up will have to be dug out.