If you’ve ever had to tend a garden before, you would know that weeds are the bane of every gardener’s existence. Traditional weed control methods include striking them with an array of chemical herbicides and weed killers. However, this is incredibly toxic and detrimental to both the environment and the health of the plants around it. If you’re growing fruits and vegetables, this practice can even be hazardous to your own health. Thankfully, there are safe and eco-friendly weed control alternatives out there that are just as effective. The following are just a few examples of such non-toxic options:
Mulch your garden beds
Mulch is incredibly beneficial to plants since it keeps the soil cool and acts as a barrier that deprives weeds of light. Organic mulch is even capable of introducing and cultivating the presence of weed seed-devouring crickets and beetles. Besides this, mulch improves soil structure, reduces water loss, and boosts nutrients in the soil. Make sure to purchase high-quality organic mulch from trustworthy suppliers in Salt Lake City. Otherwise, you risk baiting termites and leach nutrients from your soil once they decompose.
Use an organic herbicide
Herbicides don’t need to be made up of toxic chemicals to be effective. Natural herbicides like organic soaps and oil blends, even common household products can be used as less harmful substitutes. Concentrated vinegar is considered to be the most common and most effective alternative among them all. Vinegar might not be able to kill entire root systems or larger-sized weeds, but they’re effective when it comes to targeting certain weeds. This also prevents it from spreading to the surrounding plants, which is especially important considering it’s capable of killing everything it comes in contact with.
Solarize your soil
The process of solarizing involves covering an entire area of soil with heavy plastic sheets. This method works by cooking your weeds under the heat of the sun. Make sure you’re doing this when the sun is out and the weather is warm. The sheets will remain like this for four to six weeks, or until the weeds are brown and dried out.
Water only what is necessary
The same water and nutrients that help your plants grow also helps weeds grow. To avoid this, you need to be more selective when watering your plants. Only give them what they absolutely need. There are also some inventive solutions that you can employ such as drip irrigation. This system only waters the roots of your plants, but leaves nothing for the weeds around it.
Burn weeds
A flame weeder is an extremely efficient way to selectively kill different types of weeds without having to subject the surrounding plants to any chemicals. However, since they only kill the leaves that are above ground and not the roots, you may need to do a few passes with a flame weeder to get rid of the weeds entirely. If you live in an area with a slightly arid and warm climate, this might not be the right solution for you as dry leaves coupled with a dry climate pose a significant fire hazard.
Safeguard the health of your garden as well as your own health by utilizing these simple yet effective eco-friendly weed control solutions.
