Tired of Weeds? 4 Steps to Get Rid of Them and Keep Them Away
If you have a yard, you know what a nuisance weeds can be. You probably spend hours trying to prevent weeds from overpowering your gardens. No matter how many hours you labor in your garden, the weeds still return with a vengeance. Unfortunately, some of your gardening techniques might be to blame for the overgrowth of weeds. Here are four steps you need to take to get rid of weeds and keep them away.
Cover Up the Soil
You might not realize this, but bare soil is an open invitation for weed growth. The wind blows in the weed seeds, and the bare soil provides the perfect location to lay down roots. You can make it more difficult for the weed seeds to dig in by covering the soil. Once you've planted your garden, cover the bare soil with any type of natural ground cover, including hay or mulch. Be sure to place several inches of covering on the ground to keep the weeds away.
Don't Over-Till
If you're like most people, you want to make sure that your soil can absorb enough water. To do that, you probably use a shovel or a garden hoe to till the soil. Unfortunately, tilling the soil spreads the weed seeds throughout your garden, planting them deep in the fertile soil. You've now planted a garden of weed seeds that will thrive with plenty of fertilizer and water. To keep the weeds away, till your garden lightly right when it's time to plant. To make sure your plants can continue to absorb plenty of water, do a light tilling around the root base of the plants as needed.
Keep the Gardens Growing
One of the problems with seasonal gardens is that the soil is available for weed growth during the off-seasons. To keep the weeds under control, be sure to keep the gardens growing throughout the year. The year-round crops will ensure that the soil is in use all year long, which will reduce weed cultivation. Keep the gardens thriving by choosing plants that can grow in all types of weather conditions.
Douse Weeds with Vinegar
If you've found a large weed in your yard, chances are that the root system has spread out underneath it. That means when you pull it up, fragments of the root will remain in the ground, where it will continue to grow. Instead of pulling the weed, douse the leaves with a generous helping of rock salt and vinegar. Pour vinegar on the leaves and then sprinkle rock salt on them. The solution will kill the weed, root and all. Once it's dead, you can pull the entire weed out of the ground.
Weeds can destroy a perfectly good garden. Don't turn weed control into back-breaking work. Use the tips provided here and talk to a professional like Snyder's Weed Control about other ways to keep the weeds out of your garden.
Share