Spring is the perfect time to start a garden. Whether it’s large or small, filled with flowers or vegetables, the important thing is connecting with nature. But part of nature includes all those undesirable plants and weeds that always seem to grow faster and stronger than the ones you’re cultivating.
Here, we’ll list some natural and handy household methods to rid yourself of this nuisance:
Covering with Plastic or Newspapers
If your garden isn’t primarily about aesthetics and you simply want your tomatoes to thrive without interference, one solution is to cover the soil between the plant stems with several layers of newspapers or black plastic. This blocks out sunlight, preventing weed growth.
If you opt for plastic, it also helps retain moisture in the soil, promoting better plant growth.
Hand Pulling and Hoeing
One of the most effective but also most disliked gardening tasks is weeding. Hoeing is less effective because it leaves the roots of weed plants in the soil, allowing them to quickly regrow. Hand pulling, or uprooting weeds from the root, is much more efficient as it removes the entire plant, slowing down the growth of new shoots.
It’s ideal to water the garden well the evening before weeding. Overnight, the soil surface will dry, making it easier to work, while retaining enough moisture in the soil to facilitate root removal. Equally important is ensuring that only the weeds are uprooted, leaving the surrounding plants intact.
Boiling Water
This method is highly effective for areas outside the garden, such as between concrete surfaces, in cracks between paving stones, or along the edges of stairs. These are places where very persistent plants often grow. While these plants can be easily removed with a trimmer, if you first pull them out and then pour boiling water into the cracks, you’ll rid yourself of weeding for the entire season.
Homemade Herbicide
There’s also a homemade herbicide that combines several powerful ingredients and is quite effective. For particularly stubborn weeds, prepare a mixture of water-diluted vinegar, salt, and dish detergent. Pour it into a pump sprayer and spray the weeds.
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Keep in mind that this homemade herbicide will kill any plant it touches, so be careful around plants you don’t want to destroy. Also, spray with vinegar only in the early morning hours when there’s no wind or clouds—sunlight intensifies vinegar’s effects, and you won’t risk rain washing away the just-sprayed plants.
Foto: Freepik