Looking for Organic Weed Control

Here are Helpful Tips to Eliminate Weeds Naturally

A natural weed killer is something that more people should use. Not only is it an effective way for you to kill weeds in your lawn and garden, it is also cost effective, easy, good for the environment and safe for your children as well as your pets. I encourage everyone to use natural and organic methods rather then the obnoxious chemicals.

I will describe only organic weed control methods and how they work.

Natural Weed Solutions

In your home, you have many effective organic weed control products. Not the harsh chemicals that you have stored in your garage, but in your pantry. For starters, plain, white vinegar is an excellent organic weed control. All you will need to do is to spray vinegar (using a standard spray bottle) onto the leaves and near the roots of the weed. It will kill the weed within days allowing you to easily brush them away.

Another choice for organic weed control that you may have in your home is rock salt. Table salt may not work as well, but rock salt is an excellent organic weed control remedy. This time, place just a few granules at the base of the stem, near the roots. Be careful where you are placing these as rock salt will kill your garden plants or garden flowers as well. I use this especially on my pathway walk between the stones and bricks. Within days, you will have all your weeding needs solved.

The organic vinegar that you should use is Burns-Philip Food Inc. and Heinz USA (concentrations ranging from 5-30%), as well as from Knouse Foods (14% concentration).

Of course, I couldn't write this without trying it myself, so out I went with my spray bottle and white distilled vinegar. I sprayed the weeds in late morning and checked late that afternoon. And I had some really pleasant surprises! I sprayed two sizes of Canada thistle (11" and 4") and the vinegar killed all the top growth.

Acetic acid in the vinegar readily degrades in water (so I wouldn't spray right before an expected rainstorm).

Store bought Organic Weed Control Products

In addition to these natural weed killers, you can also find a great deal of organic weed control products for purchase as well. There are those that are ideal for use in killing weeds as well as organic pesticides that are quite effective with pests you may have in your yard.

Before purchasing these products, though, make sure to select ones that are all organic, meaning no chemicals have been added to them.

There are many types of organic weed control on the market that you can use. You will find those that help with disease control as well as weed control. If you need to get rid of unwanted grass, there are organic grass killers for your organic lawns available as well.

Tackle Weeds with Persistence
and the Right Tools

Another way for an organic weed control is the old-fashioned way - physical or manual work.

Weeding can be an absolute joy (o.k. not absolute, but it is fun) after a deep, soaking rain, but don't do it when the soil is soggy. You'll create clumps. And be careful where you walk and kneel: You don't want to compress your soil. Stay on paths and lean into your planting beds instead.

Weeds pops up wherever conditions allow. With that in mind, think about all the things that you do to stimulate plant growth.

Your first defense against weeds is to pull or hoe them before they get established. Learn to identify weeds as young seedlings and nab them as they emerge.

Remember not to yank perennial weeds. You'll break off the root, and another weed will appear. Use a long screwdriver or weed-pulling tool with a forked end. Hand-pulling becomes easier as your soil improves.

Here's the trick to comfortable, quick weed-pulling:

Put your hands in front of you, thumbs up and palms facing your body, one hand in front of the other. Now roll your hands, like kids do when singing "This old man goes rolling home."

Pinch your forefinger and thumb together as you reach the outermost edge of the imaginary circle your hands are tracing and move your arms to the side as you roll your hands.

With practice, you will be surprised by how quickly you clean up a row in the garden with this movement.

Dig

You may need to use a shovel to dig out persistent perennial weeds. Get as much of the root and runners(creeping stems that grow along the ground) as you can. It may take several diggings to eliminate something particularly tenacious, such as Canada thistle.

Hoeing

Use a diamond-shaped or hula hoe

Annual weeds die when you sever the stems from the roots just below the soil surface. With a sharp hoe, you cut the weeds easily. Forget about the square-headed traditional garden hoe for this job—go for an oscillating or a swan neck hoe instead.

To hoe your garden without acquiring a backache, hold the hoe as you would a broom—that is, with your thumbs pointing up. Skim the sharp sides of the hoe blade through the top inch of the soil.

Stop the Seeds

If you don't get them as babies, at least don't let them go to seeds. As the old gardening saw goes, "One year's seeding makes seven years' weeding."

Organic Mulch

A thick layer of mulch keeps light from reaching weeds. Without adequate light, the plants don't produce enough chlorophyll to enable further growth. The few plants that do manage to stick their leaves into the light will be shallowly rooted and very easy to pull.

Organic mulches include compost, shredded leaves, wood chips, bark, dried grass clippings, and other biodegradable material nourish the soil as they decompose. A 2- to 3-inch layer will keep sunlight from reaching the weed seeds, preventing their germination. Apply mulch immediately after weeding or digging your soil. Take care to keep mulch an inch or two away from plant stems to prevent rot caused by moisture retained in the mulch.

Your mulch material will also conserve water, keep roots cool, and nourish the soil as it decomposes. For even better weed protection, use several sheets of newspaper, kraft paper (the paper used to make grocery bags) or cardboard under these mulches. Kraft paper and cardboard allow even less light to reach weeds and are even more impenetrable.

Plant densely

Grow plants close together, and they will consume the available space, nutrients, and sunlight, thereby pushing the weeds out of the way.

Use the sun or Solarization

You can let the sun help you get rid of persistent weeds, if you're willing to leave the bed unplanted for six weeks in the summer. Get started in late spring or early summer by pulling, hoeing or raking out as many weeds as you can from the garden bed. Then, moisten the soil and cover it with clear plastic, weighting or burying the edges. Leave the plastic in place for 6 weeks. When you remove the plastic, the sun will have cooked weeds that would otherwise have sprouted.

Corn Gluten Meal

Persistence

This is your most important long-range weapon against weeds. Mulch well, pull what you can, hoe where you have to and use a handy tool or two for a few minutes whenever you visit your garden. Do these things consistently for a few seasons, and you will slowly, but surely expel the invaders for good.

More Organic Weed Control

Here are other items for killing weeds the organic way.

• Scythe, a fatty acid-based, non-selective contact herbicide that disrupts the cellular structure of the plant;
• Neem Oil for killing aphids; and
• Burn Out Weed and Grass Killer: also an acid-based weed killer made of vinegar and lemon juice.