Manage soil fertility and pH so seedling vegetables are not stressed. Avoid planting in cold, wet soils to promote rapid germination and seeding establishment. Rotate crops to avoid buildup of disease organisms or insect populations that can cause crop damage, and take extra precaution to avoid planting in fields that may contain carryover herbicide residue from the previous cropping season. Few herbicides are labeled for application to vegetables. Therefore, producers must rely on cultural and mechanical forms of weed control.
Tillage is an effective way to control weeds that emerge before vegetable planting.
Timely cultivation effectively removes weeds from the row middles after crop establishment. Use care with the cultivator to avoid root damage that can stress and slow crop growth. Plastic mulch also serves as an effective barrier against establishment of many annual grasses and broadleaf weeds. Although use of plastic mulch is expensive, the benefits of weed control are great. Irrigation Mississippi rainfall exceeds 50 inches per year.