Everyone hates to pull weeds. I love to work in my garden, but I hate pulling weeds. I thought I’d share some things that work for me to control weeds so that I have the time and the energy to do the fun things.
If you start weed control in the early spring you can get it under control and keep it that way. If you let it get away from you it is hard to catch up.
The best way, of course, is to prevent them in the first place.
PREVENTION
- Don’t let weeds go to seed. Once a weed puts on a flower the next step is seeds. Get rid of it before it gets to that stage.
- Mulch is fabulous! Mulch is a layer of some organic matter on top of your dirt. A nice thick layer of mulch really helps with weeds and also keeps moisture in the soil and will make your plants very happy. You can use lots of different materials for mulch, such as wood chips, compost, pine needles, shredded leaves and lawn clippings. Over time the mulch will decompose and make enrich your soil.
- I would never recommend landscape fabric except in a very few situations like under a deck or heavy gravel. But even in those situations be aware that it is not a permanent fix. In a year or two weeds will start coming up through the fabric or sprout in the dirt that collects on top. You will need to watch for weeds and pull or spray them.
SMOTHER
If I have a large area with weeds or grass that I want to clean out, my favorite method is to smother them.
- With a lawn mower or weed whacker cut the grass or weeds as short as you can get them.
- Cover the area with several layers of newspaper or cardboard.
- Pile lawn clippings, leaves, or some other mulch on top to hold it down. The paper and cardboard will decompose and become part of the mulch.
I would use this method if I wanted to prepare a new planting bed for the next year. It also works great in a large area such as under fruit trees where I don’t want anything to grow. I repeat the process under my fruit trees every few years to keep the area weed free.
If I have weeds in my garden or beds that I need to get rid of this is the way I go about it.
SCRAPING
This is a scuffle hoe. It is used by scraping it across the ground.
- When weeds are young seedlings they will be very small with minimal root systems. They are easy to pull out but there may be thousands of them so that pulling them would take forever. This is where you use your scuffle hoe. Just scrape it across the ground a few times and it will pull them out. You can just leave the little weeds there and they will dry up and be gone in a day. This will take about 30 seconds when they are small so: DON’T LET THEM GET BIG!
Products like Preen will prevent seeds from sprouting. They will not affect the weeds that are already there, only the seeds germinating. It can be helpful, but for me, the best way is to just scrape them out when they are little.
DIGGING
If weeds have gotten big you will need to dig them out.
- If the ground is hard and dry don’t waste your time trying to dig in it. Soak it with water and come back tomorrow.
- When weeds are big don’t try to pull them out because you will probably break off the top and the weed will grow back. Get your shovel and place it close to the weed. Push it down deep with your foot and pry it up, this will loosen the dirt and the weed will come out nicely without leaving pieces of root. Sometimes you will need your hand trowel to pry it out completely. If I have a lot of weeds I go all around the area with my shovel to loosen the dirt and then go with my hand trowel to the individual weeds.
SPRAYING
I prefer to use natural methods as much as possible, but in some cases, I feel that to keep them under control you may need to use a chemical. This is especially true with some weeds such as bindweed, where digging and pulling only encourage more growth.
- It is essential to understand that plants absorb the poison through their leaves, not their roots. When spraying be careful that you get the spray on the leaves of the plant you want to kill and be very careful that it doesn’t get on other things. If you get any on a desirable plant wash it off with water immediately.
There are generally three types of spray to kill weeds. Make sure you know what you are using.
- Lawn weed killer. This will kill any broad leaf plant- basically anything but grass.
- Weed and grass killer. This will kill anything it gets on.
- Grass-b-gone by ortho. This will kill only grass and not broadleaf plants. I have not seen any other brand of it and it is quite expensive, but it can be very helpful if you get grasses growing in your strawberry beds or a ground cover. It works best when the weather is hot, and it may take a few weeks for the grass to die so you have to be patient.
All sprays will work quicker when the weather is hot. It will take some time for the plant to die, so be patient. Some weeds are very tough so if they still look pretty healthy after a week give them another shot of spray.
You will need a sprayer to apply them, I use a pump sprayer but if you don’t have much to do you can use a trigger sprayer. I have separate sprayers for broadleaf (lawn weed killer) and weed and grass killer (Round-up) so the residue of one won’t get in the other. I haven’t found Grass-b-gone in a concentrate. As far as I know, it only comes pre-mixed in a trigger sprayer.
There are some weeds that I never try to dig out because it is impossible to get all the root. In my area, bindweed (commonly called morning glory) can be a real problem. The only way I have found to get rid of it is to spray it. The roots go all over the place and if a tiny bit is left in the ground it will start growing. It is very tough and will not die with one spraying. You will need to spray it, wait a week and do it again. For me, the best way to fight morning glory is to always have some spray mixed up so that whenever I see it I can spray it.
Bindweed (morning glory)
Bindweed climbing up a fence
- If your weeds are mixed up with your plants you can separate them and use newspaper or cardboard to protect your plant while you spray the weed.
The best way to deal with weeds is to never let them get ahead of you. I find that if I take some time in the early spring I can get them cleaned up and don’t have to spend a lot of time with them throughout the summer. I hope this is helpful. Good Luck!
