Lawn & Garden
Natural Alternatives to Pesticides
Whacking the Weeds
Weeds will always be with us. They are in the air, soil, everywhere! All we can do is try to keep them under control. Weeding goes far beyond making your lawn and garden look pretty. Weeds get their bad rap for a good reason: they steal nutrients and moisture from the soil. They harbor harmful diseases and insects and they kill the good plants, flowers and shrubs by smothering them.
The first step is to never allow them to bloom. Soon after they bloom, they will form seeds. One plant can produce and self-plant hundreds more. Weeds spend the cold months preparing for their blast of growth come spring and summer. So, get busy pulling now to avoid the flowering. It’s the single most effective long-term weed prevention.
Some weeds propagate underground via roots, rhizomes or stolons (runners). These include all grasses such as couchgrass and quackgrass and oxalis. The latter is a special pest. It spreads from roots, rhizomes and seeds. The seeds appear in pods that explode them out into the wind. Root propagators present special problems. To stop them, you must pull all of the roots. If you break a rhizome, two weeds quickly will form.
Many homes have wild areas usually at the back of your lot where everything is allowed to go natural. These areas are nice and desirable except for one thing. They are weed factories. It’s a good idea to clean them out.
Mulching does a good job on seeded weeds. Many of them lack the vigor to break through 3-4 inches of heavy mulch. The rhizomes are something else. They’ll eventually have to be pulled.
You can use perennial plants to your advantage. The groundcovers including sedum, creeping jenny and English ivy turn the table on weeds and force them out. If you have areas that always have weeds, these are an alternative. You may have to pull a few, but they will be sparse and easy to remove.
Adding soil organics such as compost will boost plant growth and health, enabling them to withstand weed attacks. The weeding will be a lot easier as organics create light and fluffy soil.
Of course, the best weeding tool is literally at your fingertips. Spending a few hands-on minutes every day in your garden is the best weed fighter.