How to control weeds in raised garden beds?

[hetas]

Hello friends, we have 10 raised garden beds. Attached pic, these weeds are popping up in huge quantities on all beds and it's very tiring to remove. We have mulched with dry grass and also some with sugarcane mulch. Need help to identify this weed and ideas on how to control them without using chemicals. 

We are thinking of adding more mulch but are worried that might suffocate our veggie plants. 

Any idea please? Thanks in advance. 

[EricL]

Hello @hetas 

Thanks for sharing that question about the weed in your garden. After a fair bit of looking, I believe that this particular weed is the Palmleaf morning-glory (Ipomoea wrightii) there are other varieties of morning glory, but this one stands out because of its "V" shaped leaves. It is classified as invasive, but I'm afraid that there is not much more information I could gather about it.

At this point in time, I suggest trying to track the weeds root stem and see if it travels just below the soil surface. I can only recommend manual removal at this point and staying vigilant to make sure that it does not get out of control.

Let me call on our experienced members @Noelle and @mich1972 for their recommendations.  

If you have any other questions we can help with, please let us know.

Eric

[Noelle]

Hi @hetas 

Morning glory vines of all types will produce an abundance of seeds so it is possible that your 'crop' has grown from wind-borne seeds.

Hand removal is you only option if you do not want to use chemicals.  Before vegies are planted or sown, you could use boiling water - pour it over seedlings and they will quickly turn up their toes.

Adding more mulch would not be a great i9dea, as the thicker the mulch, the harder it is for water to penetrate down into the soil beneath. Plus, over summer as mulch starts to break down, it can form an impervious layer that prevents moisture soaking in at all.

[mich1972]

Good afternoon @hetas I agree with Eric and Noelle, it’s best to pull out by hand as soon as you see them pop up.