When thinking of Summer, our heads are filled with images of picnics at the beach and barbeques that include salads made from the plump red tomatoes and leafy greens grown in our very own gardens. Yet, often there are some nasty little attackers, who disguise themselves as pretty little white and yellow flowers, that invade and kill the fruits and vegetables we planted.
This year at Hire a Hubby, we want to help you conquer the pests that are determined to ruin your gardens, and your summer salad dreams. And the best part is that these weeds can eventually be used for fertilisation of the same garden! An established recycling method of your weeds can be obtained if you try a compost tumbler.
So, the first thing we have to do is get rid of these weeds – these are the ways we suggest:
Stifle the source
By this we mean to smother them from the sun. All things growing from the ground need sunlight to grow, whether it’s a lot or a little. Most likely your garden is in direct sunlight since this is a requirement for most items planted in them, so how do you stop them from getting the sun?
One idea is to cover them with strips of newspapers because paper is biodegradable, and then cover the strips with mulch. Once the weeds are covered it shouldn’t take long for them to die off. If some stubborn ones grow through the newspaper and mulch just add another layer and it should do the trick.
Be aware of how low you dig
Only the weed seeds that live on the top two inches of your garden are in a position to grow, due to the sunlight. Yet, there are many more seeds living deep in the soil. If you dig too far down, those seeds will find their way to the sun, and eventually become the beasts that kill your tomatoes.
Advice for avoiding this is to dig only when you need to and when you do dig add some mulch so they can’t grow. Another tip that focuses more on your lawn is to avoid disturbing the soil too much when trying to rid it of dandelions. Use a ‘narrow blade’ to split the flower from the root to cut off their food source and don’t forget weed seeds can lay inert for great durations.
Off with your head!
Ok, we aren’t talking about a guillotine, but cutting the head off weeds off is another good way to get them gone for good. This works best with weeds that return annually and it is suggested you do it before they start to dump seeds all over your garden. Since seeds from weeds tend to come from the head of the plant, it makes sense that removing it all together will greatly diminish the amount of recurrence.
Some weeds are tough so you might want to use pruning loppers or some other tool of equal strength. This method also strains the food reserves and will drain their supply of root buds, which ultimately deadens their spread.
Mix it up
There are a great many chemical weed killers out there but let’s face it, those will get into the soil, and into your cucumbers, which will eventually wind up inside of you and your family. Natural herbicides are best for the environment and for you.
Whether it’s table salt acting alone or simple boiling water, there are a myriad of natural herbicides that can be whipped up in your kitchen. A simple mixture of a cup of salt and a cup of vinegar can be sprayed directly onto the leaves of weeds for an effective disposal.
Another homemade recipe calls for 280 grams of laundry detergent mixed with nine litres of water. Make sure the mixture is even throughout and transfer a portion to a spray bottle. When you are spraying, make sure you are spraying just the leaves of the weeds and not the other occupants of your garden, and avoid soil saturation as well.
Start pulling
We can’t forget the age old method of ridding your garden of pesky weeds, which is to simply pull them out. There is no denying that this approach can become not only frustrating, but it seems simply futile at times too. However, if your garden is made from raised beds and containers, then pulling is by far your best option.
If you do decide to pull your weeds out it is suggested that you do it slowly and from the base of the weed. This is the only way to ensure you pull out the entire root system and don’t leave anything behind. It’s important to wear gardening gloves for plants with spines or spikes. These weeds can be thrown into that compost we suggested earlier!
Now that we’ve taken care of your garden, let’s take a look at your pool and patio.
