It doesn’t take much time before weeds establish themselves into garden and landscape areas. Unfortunately, gardeners who take the “wait and see” approach to weed management will experience extreme weed infestations quickly. Weed removal from severely infested areas is daunting, time consuming, and labor intensive (image: epicgardening.com).
By John Green, Certified Texas Expert Gardner, Orange County, TX
Summer has ‘barely’ arrived, but outdoor temperatures are already soaring! By now many gardeners have reduced the time spent working in the garden (or stopped completely) due to the intense summer heat and humidity. The fact is that many gardeners have decided to let go of some of the more mundane gardening tasks. The thought of pulling weeds is not typically a favorite gardening pastime for most of us any time of year but during the summer months, especially when coupled with elevated temperature, exacerbated by high humidity and the amount of physical energy needed to extract weeds…it’s simply too much of a burden! What is a gardener to do? Gardeners we need to work smarter, rather than harder to maintain a measure of control over weed populations. Otherwise, the amount of energy and time needed to regain control over weed populations will be significant, and most of us have better things to do with our time!
Weeds know no boundaries, literally ‘popping’ up all over the place quickly. Weeds grow rapidly, often outgrowing ornamental plants and vegetables alike, competing with them for nutrients and moisture, then quickly propagating until they completely overtake flower bed, vegetable garden, or landscape area when left to their own devices, left unchecked. Unfortunately, gardeners who take the “wait and see” approach to weed management will experience extreme weed infestations quickly. Weed removal from severely infested areas is daunting, time consuming, and labor intensive once weeds are established and allowed to grow “out of control”. There are numerous weed management strategies gardeners can follow to drastically reduce weed populations, the time required for weed control, and vigor needed to maintain control.
There are various measures available to assist gardeners from doing the “back-breaking” manual task of weeding, and a few are simple, easy ways to get rid of pesky weeds. Listed are five approaches for summertime weed control, all of which are organic. This means each approach is safe for gardeners, family, pets, pollinators, and the environment since they do not contain any harsh chemicals and preferred strategies.
Newspaper/Cardboard – place several layers of newspaper (approximately ten sheets stacked atop one another) or cardboard on top of the weeds around the perimeter of plants to block sunlight from the weeds and keep oxygen from reaching the soil which in turn smothers the weeds. Lightly wet the newspaper sheets or cardboard to hold it in place, then cover with mulch or compost. As it decomposes, continue adding more mulch to those areas as the decomposing material slowly replenishes beneficial nutrients back into the soil and continues reducing weed populations.
Corn Gluten Meal – is a corn by-product which inhibits seeds from germinating, meaning weed seeds cannot sprout. Layer the gluten meal on the ground around the perimeter of plants after seedlings have germinated and they have taken hold in the soil. If applying in a vegetable garden wait until harvest is complete, then spread more meal to retain weed control and prevent late season weeds.
Vinegar – there are numerous types of vinegar, but the two types often used in gardening are ‘white’ vinegar is often purchased from a grocery market having acetic acid concentration of approximately 5%. Another ‘vinegar’ type (aka horticultural vinegar) can be purchased from garden centers, farm centers, or feed & seed stores containing 20 to 30% vinegar (acetic acid). Once applied, vinegar extracts fluid from plant cells (especially the leaves) removing the nutrient carbohydrate transfer pathway which starves the weed. It is highly destructive to young, tender weed leaves. Weeds with waxy leaves require the application to be sprayed on the underside of the leaves otherwise the vinegar spray will simply roll off the leaf top. Gardeners, it is important to note that vinegar is destructive to all plants and my recommendation is that you cover garden plants before spraying weeds to minimize overspray from damaging ornamental plants.
Alcohol/ Vodka – contrary to popular belief, utilizing alcohol or vodka is an effective weed control measure and weeds are not ‘dying drunk’ when using this approach. Mix one ounce of alcohol or vodka (please use cheap vodka, not the good stuff) with two cups of water, and three drops of liquid dish detergent, then mix. Apply the mixture to weeds using a garden sprayer saturating both leaf surfaces. This will ‘dry out’ the weeds that live in the sun.
Soap – oil in soap breaks down the waxy and ‘hairy’ weed surfaces, making them vulnerable to vinegar and alcohol. Soap adds ‘shine’ to the leaves’ surface, which is a visual tool to help you determine which leaves (weeds) have been sprayed. Soap helps the mixture stay in place on the leaves causing the destruction of the weed. Next apply the alcohol or vodka mixture and be prepared to say “Goodbye” to weeds!
Boiling Water – this method is great for destroying weeds growing in the cracks of driveways and sidewalks. This method is not recommended for garden areas as there are too many ornamental plants or vegetables nearby which will be damaged or destroyed along with the weeds. Heat a kettle of water to boil and pour on to weeds. The hot water burns the weed, stem, and roots, instantly killing the weed.
We are all stewards of the environment and must do all we can to reduce the environmental burdens caused by incorrect and overuse of chemicals. Try one of these non-chemical weed management and control strategies during the summer months as an alternative approach. You might find you can save money and time while benefiting Mother Nature along the way!
So long for now, fellow gardeners! Let’s go out and grow ourselves a greener, more sustainable world, one plant at a time! Gardening questions answered: jongreene57@gmail.com.
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