How to control your weeds – without chemicals
ECO GARDEN
Weeds are just plants in the wrong place – we all know that. But that wrong place is most annoying to us, and can cause a lot of hard work. How do you get rid of weeds if you don’t want to use harmful chemical herbicides?
You can hand weed the shallow rooted annual weeds quite easily. But perennial weeds such as ground elder and bindweed are often a gardener’s worst weed nightmare, as their root system goes so far and if you leave a tiny bit of root, the plant will regrow.
Whole areas become affected, and many gardeners reach for a glyphosate-based weedkiller. This is not the organic way, and if you are not careful you may kill the neighbouring plants that you want to protect.
So the organic gardener will dig or use a garden fork (a small border fork gets between plants), hoe or hand weed with a variety of small tools. Hand weeding is most effective where weeds are all round a plant which you don’t want to dig up. If you cut or pull out every leaf and shoot once a week you will kill the root system eventually.
Hoeing keeps the soil clean and friable. You will need to hoe annual weeds every couple of weeks early in the season until mid-summer, then you can ease off.
Don’t let them flower or they will set seed for another year. Hoe perennial weeds weekly, as they are stronger, harder work but worth the effort as eventually they will die when not allowed light and air.
Use a Dutch hoe or a draw hoe, and perhaps an onion hoe with a short handle, useful for getting between plants. Use whichever you prefer, but keep it sharpened with a whetstone (available from a garden shop or hardware store), or it will not be of any use.
A flame gun is allowed under organic rules and is effective even if it sounds a bit drastic. A blow torch powered by gas or paraffin, it will give a blue flame that spreads about a square foot and will cook leaves, making the roots wither and die.
It’s very effective against young seedlings, but stronger weeds may need more applications, particularly perennial weeds. Use for large areas, paths and drives, but there are smaller types available for use between stones and in crevices. Take care not to set other plants and dead leaves alight.
On lawns, use a daisy grubber, a hand tool with a curved prong which gets down under the root of a dandelion or daisy plant and makes it easy to lift out.
Good ground cover plants Ajuga reptans) Geranium macrorrhizum, and others)
Mulches and smothering
Mulching is one of the best ways to smother weeds, also helping to conserve moisture and warmth in the soil, so encouraging growth of the plants you want to keep. Organic mulches will also improve soil texture and add fertility.
Any mulch is simply a layer of material laid over the soil. Straw, hay or grass clippings is effective for most weeds, but the tougher perennial ones need smothering with polythene weighted down with bricks, or old carpet.
Plastic sheets and old carpets are unsightly, but may be the answer for getting rid of weeds in a large area. They can be cut up to go round favoured plants and then disguised with a thin layer of vegetation.
Grass clippings are good, feeding the soil and encouraging worms. It is also cheap, particularly if you have a large area of lawn to mow – but lay it down in thin layers or it may become a smelly mess.
Coverings of stone chippings, pebbles, shingle or gravel are decorative and will do the job, although some weeds will still come through.
Ground cover
Spreading, ground covering plants such as thymes, mints or periwinkle will smother weeds and when they flower will attract bees and other insects. It’s a good idea to use them under shrubs. In shady areas, plant ivy. Winter flowering heathers are another option.
The more densely you plant, the less opportunity there is for weeds to prosper. And remember – if you are taking on a ‘new’ garden or plot and it has lots of weeds, including nettles, then it is good soil and should make a productive garden.
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