Weeds seem to be a given when dealing with the outdoors. Gardening can become a lengthy process when trying to fight off weeds. Here are 5 tips on getting rid of weeds that you might find useful. If you have additional methods for weed fighting, please feel free to share them!
Ground covers are an excellent way to prevent both erosion and weed growth. I plant a low-lying, lush ground cover among my perennials to keep weeds from overtaking my plants. Plants that sprout from bulbs seem to do very well when a ground cover is placed in between them.
Getting the entire root out, when pulling a weed is the only way to get rid of most of them. Dandelions are a prime example. If a dandelion is pulled up, but snapped off at the root, a new plant will shoot up from the chunk of root. This can turn into a vicious cycle. Investing in a special fork for digging up weed roots might make weeding a little easier.
Not only are newspapers easy to come by and cheap, but they are a perfect weed blocker that is also biodegradable. Spread news papers in a layer that is two to three sheets thick. Put layers around plants, in spaces between each row, and wherever you don’t want weeds to pop up.
Mulch is another natural product that can be used to prevent weed growth. Make sure to layer it on thick. A thin layer of mulch will make the area around plants look nice, but the sunlight will still get through and enable weeds to begin growing.
I consider this option a last resort, since I don’t like using weed killers on my plants. There are many organic weed killers to choose from, but I prefer to stay away from them all together. Be sure to read the labels when buying week killing formulas. Some types shouldn’t be used on plants that are used as a food source.
I hope these tips prove to be useful to you or that you know someone who might be able to benefit from the. I find that combining many of these methods make the chance of weeds coming up in the garden even less likely. Placing a layer of newspaper down and then applying mulch on top is just one example. Do you have any additional methods for getting rid of weeds?
Top Photo Credit: imago2007 (OFF AGAIN)