Cultural Weed Control for Your Garden
Weeds are as upsetting to you as they are to the plants in your garden. Weeds are not only unsightly but they compete for dominance with your plants and flowers for such things as light, water, space and nutrients. Weeds can serve as a residence for both insects and diseases that can infect your beloved plants. Some diseases of plants can even causes problems for people, such as ragweed and poison ivy.
According to the Merriam-Webster online dictionary, a weed is defined as, “A plant that is not valued where it is growing and is usually of vigorous growth; one that tends to overgrow or choke out more desirable plants.” For a gardener, a weed is simply an annoying plant that is growing in an inappropriate place.
What can you do to control the weeds in your garden before they take over? The most effective ways to control pesky weeds are mulching, finding ways to keep the weeds you already have from going to seed, making use of tools, such as a rototiller and hoe, and finally, simple old-fashioned pulling up the weeds.
If you mulch around your plants and flowers, this should help to control the weed population. Organic mulches are instrumental in performing a few functions- they decrease weed germination, help to retain moisture in the soil and cool the soil. Choose materials such as grass clippings, pine needles, hay, straw, chipped or shredded bark. Whichever item you choose, apply it to the soil two to four inches deep and replenish it as necessary.
On the other hand, plastic mulch has the opposite effect from organic mulch in that it warms the soil. This type of mulch should be used on vegetables that are grown in the warmer seasons including melons, peppers, squash and tomatoes. One thing that has proven beneficial for decreasing the growth of weeds in gardens is fabric weed barriers.
Put on your gardening gloves and put your strength to work in pulling up weeds in your garden! Young weeds tend to be less stubborn to pull up than do more mature weeds. In particular, young weeds can be pulled with relative ease when it is raining or shortly after the rain has stopped. Doing this will prevent the weeds from giving way to more weeds.
Check stores in your area for a variety of weeding tools. For example, rototillers are excellent for larger sized gardens.
