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Ideas for Organic Weed Control
by Chris Winslow

Weeds! The bane of our gardening existence. Like it or not, they are
always on the grow. What is a weed anyway? Ralph Waldo Emerson
viewed them as ‘plants whose virtues have not yet been discovered.’

To me they are anything that shows up in my garden uninvited. Like
someone who comes to your Christmas party uninvited.

But it gets complicated. A plant might be a weed to us and a desirable plant
to someone else. Salad purslane for example. This wild, invasive summer
groundcover spreads like gossip in flower beds. Yet in other parts of the
world it is cultivated as a salad herb that packs a large dose of vitamin C.

Weeds are kept in check either by eco-friendly physical methods – or by
sometimes ‘eco-unfriendly’ chemical means. I favor the physical because
I like to garden with Nature, and am reluctant to use anything that is
toxic or harmful to our wildlife or watershed.

The first line of defense is simply to pull the weeds out by hand. If you
moisten the ground or wait until after a rain, it will be much easier. Use
a hand trowel or a spading fork to remove roots and the tops of the weeds.

You can also smother them. A layer of mulch can prevent weeds from
growing. When you prepare a new bed or an extension of the garden, try
adding a thick layer of newspaper or cardboard before you apply the mulch.
With moisture, the cardboard or newspaper eventually bio-degrades.

Solarization is also a great way to prepare a garden plot or new flowerbed.
Cover the area with clear plastic. This will trap sunlight, heat up the area
and kill weeds, their underground rhizomes, and roots.

As for chemical control, there are very few choices that are organic and
relatively safe. For existing weeds, a liquid spray of wettable sulfur or
concentrated vinegar should do the job.

As a pre-emergent weed control, corn gluten has proven to be an effective,
organic control. Timing is of the utmost importance here.

In the fall, apply the corn gluten before the emergence of winter weeds;
in the winter, apply it before the summer weeds appear. Corn gluten also
has a 9 to 10 % nitrogen supply that feeds plants while controlling weeds.

In the world of non-organic chemical weed control, there are selective and
non-selective products on the market.

For broadleaf weeds in the lawn, there are sprays that kill the weeds while
not harming the turf grass. There are also some sprays that kill grass while
not harming broadleaf plants. These types of sprays are selective.

Non-selective herbicides kill both grass and broadleaf plants.

Fellow gardeners… please choose environmentally safe methods of weed
control. And, please – always remember to read labels on toxic chemicals
before you buy them: it might change your mind.

Happy Gardening Everyone!