Hardware Cloth Guides

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. If you purchase through these links, we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. A new garden plot carved out of old pasture or a weedy corner of the yard holds years of weed seed. Plant into it right away and the weeds come up with your crop and win. Rake the bed smooth as if you were planting, then water it deeply or wait for a soaking rain. When a flush of weeds comes up about 7 to 10 days later, kill them by raking only the top inch or so of soil, then repeat once if you have time. Plant right after the last pass without digging deeper. What the extension guidance says The UC Statewide IPM Program's soil preparation page says to cultivate the top 1 to 2 inches when the soil is moist but not soaking wet and rake out weeds, old crop debris, and roots. It then says to irrigate deeply, and in a week or two cultivate again with a shovel, rototiller, or metal bow rake to kill the new seedlings. The same page says to br...

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. If you purchase through these links, we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. Every pasture road on a dry ranch ends up with a wire gate, the kind you unhook, drag open, and fight to close again. A good one closes with one hand and stays tight for years; a bad one sags into the dirt by summer. Hang pre-tensioned barbed wire between a light end stick and a solid brace. Space at least five wood stays evenly along it and tie each stay to every strand with a double loop. Keep the bottom wire about 16 inches off the ground and close it with a lever-style gate closer, not a loop of loose wire. What the specs say The British Columbia four-strand barbed wire fence specifications say all barbed-wire gates must use pre-tensioned wire and a mechanical gate closer. They call for at least 16 inches between the ground and the bottom wire and an 18-foot opening unless otherwise approved. The same specs say a barbed-wire gate needs t...

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. If you purchase through these links, we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. On an open high-plains or mountain acreage, a row of seedlings is the cheapest snow fence you will ever build. Most of them die in the first summer, though, from how they went into the ground. Keep seedling roots covered until planting, and dig each hole just big enough for the roots. Set the seedling in the center at nursery depth with the roots pointing down, not curled into a J. Firm the soil as you go so no air pockets remain, then water each one with about a gallon. What the extension guidance says The University of Wyoming's windbreak and living snow fence guide says to stake the rows and call 811 first, then rip the soil about 18 inches deep and 3 to 4 feet wide if you can. It suggests a fabric weed barrier over the rows, with an X cut for each seedling. The same guide says to dig a hole that fits the roots snugly, make sure the r...

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. If you purchase through these links, we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. Some fence lines run straight across bare bedrock, a lava flow, or a talus slope where no post will ever go in the ground. A jack post with a crib of rocks becomes the brace, and it does not forgive a careless pull. Where no post can be set, load a jack post brace with 300 to 400 pounds of rock. Anchor the stretcher low on the jack, pull the barbed wire up in small stages while watching the brace for any lift or lean, and stop short of the full pre-stretch you would use on a set brace. What the specs say The British Columbia four-strand barbed wire fence specifications allow jack posts and A-frames only where it is impossible to set a post. They call for 4- to 5-inch uprights tall enough for all four wires and a rock platform built of 3- to 4-inch material, carrying roughly 300 pounds of rock on line jacks and about 400 pounds on jack post br...

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. If you purchase through these links, we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. Onions are the worst weed fighters in the garden. Their thin, upright leaves throw almost no shade, so every weed seed in the row gets full sun. Onions have shallow roots and lose to weeds, so hoe early and often while they are small. Skim a stirrup hoe just below the soil surface between the rows, stay an inch or two away from the bulbs, and never chop deep. Then mulch 3 to 4 inches deep to cut the hoeing. What the extension guidance says University of Illinois Extension's onion growing guide says onions have shallow roots and compete poorly with weeds and grasses. It says timely shallow hoeing and cultivation are important, especially when the onions are small, and warns that hilling dry-bulb onions can make the necks rot in storage. University of Minnesota Extension's growing onions page says to make a shallow cut just below the ...

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. If you purchase through these links, we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. Tiny seeds like carrots and lettuce will not push through clods, and they dry out fast in thin mountain air. The bed you rake before sowing decides how many of them ever come up. Rake the bed only when the soil crumbles in your hand instead of balling up. Break every clod, pull out rocks and old roots, and level the surface until it is fine and firm but not packed hard. Then mark straight rows with a string and press shallow furrows with a straight edge, not a tool handle. What the extension guidance says Iowa State University Extension's guide to direct seeding vegetables says to prepare a weed-free seedbed that is fine, without large clumps or clods, for good seed-to-soil contact. It says to sow in shallow furrows, cover lightly with fine soil, follow the packet depth, and keep the bed moist. University of Minnesota Extension's gui...