Earth Friendly Weed Control
Use Poison Free Methods
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Sure. It's easy enough to spray weeds with deadly chemicals like
glyphosate. This kills them after being absorbed into the leaves and
ending up in the roots. Every other plant exposed to overspray dies too
- along with any insects and the micro herd that's in the way.
Here are a few earth friendly weed control methods that don't impact
innocent bystanders, or poison the soil and the critters that live in
it;
This is a great method to use when you're preparing a new
planting bed and you want to get rid of everything and start with a
clean slate.
Use black poly, in 4mil thickness or more, or a black
rubber runner. Move it around occasionally.
Old carpet also works for
this. Cut it into strips as it can get heavy, and overlap the edges
onto the next to stop the weeds from coming up between them.
Weed control with black plastic pots
- The upside down nursery pot method; this is good for single weeds that
are hard to remove with other systems.
Use black pots if you have them, as the heat build up inside will kill off most weeds almost over night.
I use this for killing orchard
grass in the middle of a bed where digging would disturb desirable
plants that are already established. Sometimes you need to use two pots together, or put a piece of black poly inside to block out the light.
Black Nursery Pots kill off individual weeds
Leave the pots in place during a heat wave for best results. You may have to check that they've done their job, and make sure the weeds are thoroughly dead.
- Vinegar is used as
a less harmful alternative to chemical herbicides. Keep in mind that
it's still a chemical, and can kill off the plants you want to keep as
well. Use with caution.
- Use the dirty bed
method of weeding; till up the surface of the soil, water it, then let
the seeds germinate. Then till it again to expose the weeds to the sun
and kill them. Don't dig too deeply, though, or you'll just bring up
more weeds to the surface.
- Lasagna gardening or sheet
composting. Piling up layers of compostable materials will smother
weeds and prevent them from growing. Depriving them of light is a sure
fire way to get rid of them permanently.
- Mulching,
with newspaper, cardboard or carpet, then covering that with organic
compost, wood chips, bark, straw or other organic material is a good
permanent solution in established beds, or on pathways. As long as you don't mix it into the soil, you don't have to worry about tying up the Nitrogen.
Choose
one or more of these Earth Friendly Weed Control methods to keep your
garden relatively weed free - don't forget to leave some flowering weeds
in a corner for the pollinators!
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