Organic Weed Controlling Tips for a Chemical-Free Garden
Source:Mother Earth News
Weeds are perhaps the worst enemy of any gardener. They grow very quickly, especially during the warm summer months. Not to mention that there's the risk of damaging the plants and grass in your garden when you take those out.
In situations like this, the most common—and convenient solution—home gardeners use is to rush to their local gardening store or home depot to get some herbicide. That often does the trick and keep weed control to a minimum.
But did you know that using these herbicides can do much more harm than good?
That's right!
Popular weed controlling herbicides like Round-Up contain a chemical called glyphosate. When this chemical is absorbed by the herbs and vegetables in your garden, and you eat them, they
can increase your risk of developing Parkinson's disease, infertility, and even certain types of cancer.
And that's not all.
Just like our bodies become immune to certain illnesses over time, so too do weeds with these weed controlling herbicides. Already there are different kinds of weed species growing all over the world that are immune to glyphosate and other weed controlling herbicides, meaning that no matter how much you use these on them, they won't die.
It's for this reason why many professional gardeners today are advocating the use of organic weed controlling techniques to fight off weed infestation in gardens and landscapes.
Here are the most commonly used organic weed controlling methods.
1.Layer gardening
Regular tilling and digging can cause weed seeds to reach the surface where they can be exposed to sunlight and grow.
Layer gardening prevents this from happening because all you do is to pile up organic matter and soil on top of each other. Aside from keeping the weed seeds far from the surface so that they don't germinate, the layers of organic matter eventually break down and turn into natural fertilizer that will nourish your plants.
2.Mulching
Mulching works in the same way as layer gardening in that it involves piling up layers of mulch and soil. The difference is that in this technique, the organic matter is placed on top of the soil. The mulch serves as a barrier to prevent sunlight from getting to the weed seeds. They also don't give the weeds any room to grow.
3.Solarizing
Ever heard of the saying, "too much of a good thing is bad?" Well, that's precisely the principle behind this weed controlling technique.
Solarizing involves laying a clear, heavy plastic sheet across an area of your garden where there are no plants yet. The plastic acts as a temporary greenhouse, trapping in the heat coming from both the sun and the ground. Over time, the temperature underneath the plastic is too hot for the weeds to thrive that they end up cooking underneath.
4.Crowing
Crowding is a gardening technique where your plants are placed close to each other that their leaves and branches will be touching each other once they're full grown. Doing this leaves no room for the weeds to grow because of the lack of sunlight.
5.Vinegar weed controlling solution
If some weeds still manage to sneak their way into your garden, you can kill them by spraying a solution of vinegar, table salt, and dish soap. This solution will help dry out the weeds without causing further harm to you or your plants.
Organic weed controlling does take a little bit more work than using the chemical stuff. But they are going to be extremely beneficial for you and your plants in the long run. So why not give these a try?
