The Most Effective Tips for Weed Control
What are Weeds?
Weeds are unwanted plants growing around your garden that you didn’t put there yourself. These intruders can be very dangerous, competing for air, water, sunlight, and soil nutrients with useful crops. Also, they tend to spread quickly, and their growth rate makes it challenging to eradicate them.
Weed Control Methods
Many homeowners find it easy to douse their gardens with herbicides to get rid of weeds quickly. However, these chemicals are harmful to the soil and have adverse effects on other plants. Instead, here are some risk-free and effective tips for weed control that you should consider.
Let Sleeping Weeds Lie
Digging up weeds isn’t only tiring; it can also introduce hidden weed seeds to the soil’s surface. Remember that weed seeds can be dormant for a long time. However, when they get to the soil’s surface and receive enough sunlight, they germinate. Therefore, minimize your digging to only when it’s necessary. Additionally, apply mulch over the dug spot immediately.
Mulch
Applying mulch to your lawn or garden keeps the soil moist, but deprives the weeds of sunlight, inhibiting their growth. Organic mulches can also attract insects like crickets, which feed on weed seeds. You can use natural mulch like grass clippings, shredded leaves, straw, or compost. However, avoid using hay as it contains weed seeds.
The best time to mulch is at the beginning of the season before weeds start growing. It’s also important to reapply the mulch regularly to maintain about 2 inches deep of mulch at all times.
Weed at the Right Time
It’s wise to follow the old saying “pull when wet, hoe when dry” when you want to weed. The best time to pull weeds, which is also when they start to grow, is after a drenching rain. You’ll need waterproof gloves and a comfortable sitting pad. Be sure to get the entire root out to prevent regrowth.
When the soil is dry, use a hoe to slice through the root of weeds, just below the soil line. If there are any open spaces, cover them up in mulch.
Loop off the Heads
Another useful weeding tip is to cut the head of weeds before they go to seed. This method can slow down their growth rate and reduce reseeding.
Organic Weed Control Services at Eden
If you’d like a chemical-free way of keeping weeds from overwhelming your garden, you should contact Eden. We offer organic weed control services which are environmentally safe, less expensive, and just as effective as chemical methods.