Weeds have been out of control in our gardens this year. The perfect mild growing summer conditions have lead to a massive increase in the prevalence of weeds in our gardens.
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Really, who wants weeds, we all have better things to do than spend our time toiling over weeds, there are even special tools just for weeds.
Elimination is the only choice as I'm sure you will all agree, yes total obliteration is improbable as weed seeds live up to 20 years in the soil, but you can seriously reduce them.
Here are some tips for weed reduction:
1. Mulch - it's no secret, mulch is the ultimate, straw, hay, compost etc. There is a fine balance between not too thick and too thick, but I think 10cm is about right. Mulch will help keep weeds at bay, moderate soil temperature, holds in moisture, limits evaporation, reduces splash on plant leaves keeping them cleaner and reducing fungus. Mulch also breaks down and composts putting organic matter and humus back into the soil.
2. Newspaper - Laying a thin layer of newspaper on your soil, followed by a little mulch, to anchor the paper works as a great weed barrier. Prepare your soil, add manure and or compost
and worm castings and water in well, then add your layer of newspaper and mulch. This will suppress any weed seeds already in the ground and hopefully prevent/reduce germination of new seeds on top. You can tear a small hole to plant. Newspaper will break down and form organic matter in your soil.
3. Plastic - I have spoken in detail about weed mat, which should be against the gardening law.
However, if you have a particularly weed infested area that you wish to turn into a garden bed you can lay mulch down to suffocate and suppress weeds. Depending on the weeds you wish
to eliminate, the plastic may be removed after six weeks, more if you have very persistant weeds. The compounding benefit is warming your soil to start your bed early in the season, especially if it has been particularly cold.
4. Cardboard - this has a similar affect as newspaper, although because it is thicker, the results can be better.
5. Dense planting - once weeds are restricted from sunshine, or have to compete for moisture
and nutrients they tend to wither away. Maybe consider erring on the overplanting side in areas of prolific weeds.
6. Vinegar - plants hate this stuff, buy a spray bottle from the $2 shop and hit those weeds to your heart's content. Be very careful you don't hit your tomatoes or prize plants, its non-discriminatory and will take out the lot. A dog cone works well so you keep the spray directly on the plant of choice.
7. Fire - a propane torch does wonders on a plant. This is definitely not my choice of weeding, the risks of run away fire is too great. But in colder climates and seasons, there may be some reward in this method.
8. Boiling water - just pour it on.
9. Eat them - dandelions, violet, sorrel and so on can all go in your salad.
10. Pull them - yep, thats the good old fashioned labour intensive method. If you can manage a daily walk in your garden, pulling a few weeds will be easy to manage.
Autumn is here and thats the best season in the garden, so get out there and love your space.
