Who doesn’t love clean garden free of weeds?
Weeds are troublesome, they give you a headache. They invade the land and suck up the water and extra nutrients from the soil leaving your healthy plant vulnerable to decay. Sometimes it is difficult to figure out between a healthy plant and a weed. And while you figure that out, the weeds grow strong and your lush green plant grows weak at the roots and ultimately dies.
So you ask “Is It Worth Fighting with Weeds?”
Well, yes it is worth your time and energy if you want your garden to flourish and look healthy. Some of the weeds are so strong, the root penetrates deep into the soil developing cracks in your home wall and damages concrete sidewalk. Not only should you work on removing the weeds from your garden, you should remove it from your whole property. Get ready to learn some of the tricks to get rid of the weed in your garden.
Pluck them with Your Hand
Taking the weed out of the soil can be a tedious task especially if the soil is hard because of summer heat. Your main motive should be to pull the weed out along with its root so that it does not germinate quickly. (You must be aware how fast the weeds grow). It’s quite easy. The soil is soft after watering hence it’s the best time to pull the weeds. Carefully and slowly pluck them so that the weed comes out along with the roots. Don’t wait for them to grow long. The bigger they grow the difficult it will be to pull them out and the more trouble it will cause to your plants and veggies.
Choke Them
Weeds need ample of sunlight for survival. You can use it to your advantage. If plucking is a tedious task for you, cover them fully with layers of paper and mulch, so that it does not leave any hole for sunlight and air to pass through. Still, some weeds are stubborn.
They will tear the paper and try to come out. Cover it will another four to five layers of paper and spread mulch over it. This process will choke them and they won’t grow anymore.
Use Organic Chemicals
You might say chemicals are never organic. Well, they are, especially, if you make them at home. Using purchased chemicals in your soil can harm your plants and will reduce the fertility of the soil. But you can always go through the simple process of making a natural weed killer.
Dissolve the small dishwasher soap in water and add a half cup of salt and two cups of vinegar to create a chemical solution. Fill this solution in a bottle and spray it on the weeds. Make sure this solution does not fall on your healthy plants. It may get destroyed.
Kill the Weeds with Salt
You can use normal salt to kill the weeds. Remember salt damages the soil and you will not be able to grow anything again in that area. So unless you will use the area for vegetation, you are good to go. You can
- Sprinkle salt on the weeds
- On the sidewalks
- On edge of your lawn
- At the edge of your house, where weeds tend to grow and they will never come back to bother you.
I don’t agree that all weeds are bad – for example the dandelion leaves and flower in the photo are both edible. During the winter some weeds can cover the ground and stop soil erosion. And some weeds – like nettles are really good for wildlife. I think we should tolerate some weeds and spend our time waging war on pernicious perennial weeds like ground elder and bindweed.