Natural Weed Control Methodsby Jane Lake
 Weeding is a perpetual garden chore because every year your garden will inevitably sprout a fresh crop of windborne annual weeds s as dandelions, or see the return of perennial or biennial weeds such as plantain, thistle and burdock. However, it is possible to keep weeds under control, and your garden relatively weed free throughout the growing season.
Consider the following Natural Weed Control Methods:
Using a Hoe:
 Left to right; the stirrup, collinear and long handled diamond hoe.
Hoes are designed either for weeding (to slice weeds at or just below ground level) or for chopping (to cut up weeds and cultivate or disturb the soil surface). Blades on chopping hoes, such as a rectangular onion hoe, are set at a sharp angle to the ground and are designed to move more soil than weeding hoes. The long handled diamond hoe is a weeding hoe, as are the stirrup hoe (also called the action, oscillating, swivel, scuffle, or hula hoe), the circle hoe, and Eliot Coleman’s collinear hoe.
According to research by the University of Wisconsin Healthy Farmers, Healthy Profits Project, the Diamond hoe is faster, easier, and results in less physical strain than other types of hoes. For more information, see their article, Try a long handled diamond hoe for weeding [1]
Prepare the Soil:
When making a new flowerbed or garden, consider preparing the soil for planting and then covering with dark plastic for about a month. The heat from the sun will kill any weeds or weed seeds in the top few inches of soil, resulting in a weed-free area for your flowers.
Use Landscape Fabric as a Weed Barrier:
Landscape fabric is a lightweight porous material that is placed over the soil as a barrier to weeds. It allows water to soak through, but prevents light from reaching the soil, thus preventing the growth of any underlying grass or weeds. It works best when you are using seedlings or small plants rather than seeds. Cut a cross-shaped slit in the landscape fabric and plant a seedling in this hole. Repeat for each plant you wish to grow. The seedlings will thrive without competition from surrounding weeds. To make the bed more attractive, cover the landscape fabric with decorative mulch.
Intensive Perennial Planting
By planting perennials close together, you can crowd out weeds. The idea is to cover the ground completely with desirable plants, thus allowing no room at all for weeds to grow. This usually works best with established, full-sized perennials. For a sunny spot, plant coneflowers, daisies, gallardia and other sun-loving perennials in a dense patch. Hostas, astilbes and ferns are good companion plants for a shade bed, and can be planted close enough together that weeds have little chance to grow.
Ground Covers - A Living Mulch:
Perennial ground covers are useful for preventing weeds in rock borders, but they also make a great living mulch for larger flower beds. Sweet woodruff, sedums, mosses and creeping thyme work well for this - simply allow these low-lying plants to cover the perennial bed completely. Other perennials will thrive if planted anywhere within this living carpet, while weeds are crowded out.
| | Organic Weed Control Guide
by Monica Resinger
Weeds can spoil the look of a flowerbed, rob valuable nutrients from the soil
and can be a general nuisance. If you don't keep up with them, they can be
even more troublesome to get rid of. While they can be difficult to get under
control, don't lose hope, it just takes a little persistence and know how.
Here are some organic methods for controlling weeds:
Use of a stirrup hoe:
The best method I have found for controlling weeds works best in a vegetable garden planted in rows and on young weed seedlings. You use a stirrup hoe to cultivate the ground at least once a week. This hoe is like a regular hoe, but instead of the flat surface, there is a round or squared off metal hoop at the end. The side closest to you has a sharp edge, which cuts the weeds roots as you are hoeing through the soil. It doesn't take much time to go out and work your hoe down each row and by doing this, no weeds can grow because seedlings are uprooted or cut off before they have a chance. You will have to weed by hand up close and in between garden plants because the stirrup hoe can uproot or damage them if worked too close.
Use of a pitchfork:
By using a pitchfork in a new and/or large bed with little or no existing
plants, you will be able to get most of the roots of long rooted weeds. It also
enables you to cover a large area faster. To use a pitchfork for weed control,
push it under a group of weeds and lift them. Shake the soil off the weeds and
dispose of them in the compost pile.
Vinegar or boiling water:
If you spot a weed growing in the sidewalk cracks of your sidewalk or in your
driveway, try pouring boiling water or vinegar over them. Don't do this in
your flowerbeds because it could also kill neighboring plants.
Mulch:
Use lots of mulch. As long as mulch is applied thick enough to keep sunlight
from reaching the soil, it will keep new weeds from sprouting. You can use
grass clippings, shredded and chipped branches, beauty bark, hay, leaves or
compost.
Hand picking:
Take a walk through the yard equipped with a bucket and gloves as often as
possible and hand pick weeds. Try to pick them before they flower to prevent
them from going to seed and seeding themselves all over the yard. Also, be sure
to get all the roots; if you don't, the weed will more than likely be back in a
couple of weeks.
I hope this guide can help you in controlling your weeds. The key to getting
and staying weed free is persistence. You have to stay on top of it by
checking your gardens regularly and maintaining what needs to be done.
Get Monica's FREE e-zine for homemakers 3 times per week; just send a blank e-mail to: HomemakersJournal-subscribe@yahoogroups.com [2]
Get FREE home and garden e-books at Monica's website, Homemaker's Journal
E-publications
|
Learn how to use natural and organic methods of controlling weeds in your garden.