Good Morning Bonnie, 

Thank you for contacting the U of M Extension Service. 

There are several issues to consider before you use the vegetation on your gardens. 

It would be important to ensure the "weeds" you are planning to use are not invasive and will not spread into your gardens. If you are not familiar with native MN plants and native aquatic plants, some of them may be desireable on you shoreline for wildlife and pollinators. 

From you question, I can tell you live in Morrison County. Here is a link to the Morrison County Soil and Water Conservation District, lakes and rivers program: https://www.morrisonswcd.org/lakes-rivers  You could call them. They will provide technical assistance to consider a native plant shoreline buffer. They could also help you identify the plants you are trying to get rid of and tell you if they are invasive, and non-native. 

Here is a link to reed canary grass: https://extension.umn.edu/identify-invasive-species/reed-canary-grass It is a common grass on waterways in Minnesota. 

This information states: 

• Spreads via rhizome, which is a buried plant stem that sends out roots and shoots.

This can spread from a buried plant stem. 

If the plants you want to use are actual weeds, you would not want to be placing weed seeds in your containers and garden. If the weeds are a type of grass that has no seed heads in it, you could use it on your plants and gardens. 

There are cover crops you can plant in your garden to enrich and protect your soil until spring: https://extension.umn.edu/managing-soil-and-nutrients/cover-crops-and-green-manures.

You could do a soil test in the spring to see if you need additional nitrogen: https://extension.umn.edu/managing-soil-and-nutrients/soil-testing-lawns-and-gardens

You could make a compost pile of the vegetation to be used at a later date: https://extension.umn.edu/managing-soil-and-nutrients/composting-home-gardens

Hopefully this information will give you some new ideas for what to do with all the vegetation. 

Good Luck!

Hi- I live in ST Louis County, and the "weeds" I'm asking about are the weeds in the water around my dock and swimming area.   I'm sure you are very busy, but I'd sure like an answer regarding water weeds for garden cover or mulch. 0155012

Good Morning Bonnie, 

Again, It would be important to ensure the "weeds" you are planning to use are not invasive and will not spread into your gardens.

The Minnesota Dept of Natural Resources has rules and guidance about how much vegetation you can remove from the water near your shoreline: https://www.dnr.state.mn.us/shorelandmgmt/apg/regulations.html

As I stated earlier: If the plants you want to use are actual weeds, you would not want to be placing weed seeds in your containers and garden. If the weeds are a type of grass that has no seed heads in it, you could use it on your plants and gardens.

Your choice if you want to dry it out first. 

I hope this answers the question you have and I apologize if I did not answer it the first time.