How To Stay On Top Of Weeds In The Garden

My 3 step process to maintaining a weed free garden.

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Step 1: Prevention

Believe it or not, there are a few ways you can help prevent weeds from ever appearing in your garden. It’s important to know that these methods won’t prevent 100% of the weeds but will certainly help keep them at bay. It’s also important to recognize that not all these methods will fit in with everyone’s gardening style. Think about the principles you want to follow while gardening and use the methods that best match those principles.

Landscape Fabric:

One of the more common weed prevention methods is to use a landscape fabric cover. The goal behind landscape fabric is to create a barrier that blocks weed seeds from getting the right conditions to germinate. This sounds fool proof, right? I’ll break down the pros and cons and let you decide for yourself if this is the method for you.

Pros:

• Prevents covered weed seeds from germinating and sprouting.
• Reduces the need for herbicides.
• Helps with erosion.
• Helps slow water evaporation from the soil and reduces the need for frequent watering.
• Prevents non-organic materials like rocks and plastics from entering the soil.
• Helps prevent heat from escaping the soil during winter months.
• Typically applied as a once and done solution.

Cons:

• There’s little aeration with landscape fabric which can lead to hard, compact soil.
• Prevents good organic materials from entering the soil and creates nutrient depletion over time.
• Mulch and soil will build up on top of the landscape fabric over time which can prevent water from entering the soil below. Additionally, over time weeds will start to germinate and grow on top of the landscape fabric in the new mulch layer on top.
• Can be costly and time consuming to install.

While landscape fabric is a great tool to help weed prevention, there is still some upkeep with using this type of prevention method, so what else can be used instead?

Organic Mulch:

Using an organic mulch such as leaf mulch, wood chips, pine needles, grass clippings, or straw can be a great alternative to landscape fabric. Typically, organic mulches are more cost effective to integrate into your garden and are much better for the health and life of your soil. As organic mulches break down and decompose, they ad valuable nutrients and new organic matter to the soil.

I’ve mentioned most of the pros to organic mulch above, so what are some of the cons?

• Needs to be reapplied each gardening season, and sometimes multiple times in one season. Some materials like wood chips will last a little longer than others.
• Can attract certain types of pests such as slugs, and non-beneficial worms and insects.
• Could contain weed seeds. Straw and grass mulch often contains grass, hay, or oat seed, so be cautious when using this as your preferred organic mulch.
• Some organic mulches can deplete nutrients from the soil. Fresh wood chips are excellent at taking nitrogen out of the soil, so be cautious when using wood mulch around flower beds, and never use wood mulch in your vegetable garden.

Majority of gardeners I know (myself included) will use organic mulch over landscape fabric whenever possible. However, there is one more prevention method I want to review with you.

Herbicides:

Ask any group of gardeners how they feel about herbicides and you’re sure to hear mixed reactions on the topic. Herbicides have their place in the gardening world, but how do you know if they’re right for you?

Pros:

• Can be applied as both a preventative measure and a continuous management measure for weed control. (pre-emergence and post-emergence)
• Can work quickly and efficiently to remove weeds.
• Typically, are effective for long periods of time once applied.
• Makes it easy to remove weeds in closely planted crops where manual removal is not always possible

Cons:

• Selecting the correct herbicide can be tricky and difficult to understand.
• Herbicides can kill all of the plants it is applied to, not just weeds.
• Herbicides could cause health complications, sickness and irritation if not applied carefully and with proper protection.
• They could cause pollution if carried into ground water, nearby streams, or runoff water.
• Over time, plants can develop resistance to herbicides.
• Most are toxic, and could pose a threat to pets, small children, and the natural animals and insects vital to a healthy ecosystem.

There are rare instances where I will use an herbicide to get rid of a tricky weed, or invasive species, but I try to avoid herbicides whenever possible in my gardening practices. That may or may not be the right option for you, so do your research and make informed decisions for you and your family. Your university extension likely has multiple resources of science backed research and articles to help you decide. Often, these resources are free to the public!

Step 2: Weed Management

Regardless of the prevention measure you may choose to use in your garden, weeds are a never-ending part of having a garden. There are some things you can do to make managing the weeds easier on yourself.

Create A Weeding Schedule:

You’ll notice I don’t need to weed every single day of the week. As I continue to add to our landscape, I imagine my own schedule will evolve, but for now this simple schedule keeps me on track and helps maintain beautiful, weed-free gardens. I’ve also learned the wonderful habit from my grandpa and parents of just pulling weeds as I see them. If you’re like me, you regularly spend time in your gardens admiring your hard work. If I’m walking by and see a weed, I’ll just pull it. No need to wait for a specific day of the week to get rid of it.

Plant Spacing:

Plant closely together whenever possible. This might be harder to do in a veggie garden, but in flower beds, the closer you can keep plants together, the fewer opportunities weeds will have to grow. This might be harder to maintain early in the season, but by planning and properly laying out your flower beds, you can expect by mid-summer, the bed will be full of flowers with little space left for weeds. Keep in mind the end size of a plant so that you don’t overcrowd. Some plants need more room than others, and planting too closely can cause diseases like powdery mildew.

Obviously, this style of gardening isn’t for everyone. Some people really like the extra space in between plants, but if you’re struggling and don’t want to take time to weed your beds, this would be a great planting option for you. Lastly, you can use succession planting and ground cover plants to help close the gap between plants as they fade out.

Step 3: Have the Right Tools

My third favorite tip to overcome weeds is to have the right tools. Here are some of my favorite tools to make wedding a breeze:

Grandpa’s Weeder

This has been a favorite find of mine and allows me to weed standing up without breaking my back. It’s an excellent tool for grabbing those pesky, deeply rooted weeds, and an absolute game changer for pulling dandelions out of the lawn. Another bonus to this tool? The purchase supports a small family-owned business in Oregon! Check it out here!

Link to Grampa’s Weeder

Hula Hoe/Stirrup Hoe

There are several options available when it comes to picking a good weeding hoe. My personal favorite is the Hula Hoe, or sometimes called the Stirrup Hoe. My all-time favorite version is this two in one Stirrup Hoe and Cultivator. It comes in two sizes to give you the perfect reach depending on your height. This is another tool that can be used while standing and helps prevent backaches while weeding.

Link to Harrms Stirrup Hoe and Cultivator

Hori Hori Knife

Hori Hori Knifes are traditional Japanese gardening tools and are not just for weeding. I also use mine for transplanting seedlings, breaking up the soil and splitting perennials. Most Hori Hori Knives have one side that is serrated for easily cutting through thick plants and a smooth sharpened side for slicing through weeds, roots, and other plant material. It’s a small but mighty tool to have on hand while in the garden. This one comes with a nice leather sheath, gloves, and sharpening stone.

Link to Topline Hori Hori Knife with Leather Sheath and Sharpening Tools

Final Thoughts:

Weeds in the garden should not control your life. Unfortunately, they go hand in hand with having a garden, and whether you like it or not, there’s no fool proof way to completely irradicate weeds from your life. However, if you follow my tips for prevention, maintenance, and getting the right tools, weeding won’t take over your life. What methods are you already implementing and what do you plan to start doing to help keep your garden weed free? Let me know in the comments section below!

I’ll leave you with this final thought on battling weeds: your garden doesn’t have to look perfect. Do your best to stay on top of them, but don’t let it stress you if you can’t keep up. Take the time to enjoy your garden and appreciate its beauty even if that means there’s a few weeds hanging out too.