To be sure, no one wants to find weeds in their garden. It is the kind of problem that should be dealt with as quickly as possible. Thankfully, there are tons of different ways to kill weeds that are available to you. What matters is understanding that you do not necessarily need to go out and buy weed killer. There are a range of products to help you, but why not consider going the natural route?
Just as there are lots of weed killer products on the market, there are also plenty of natural ways to kill weeds. More importantly, these are methods which can also ensure those weeds do not come back.
How to Kill Weeds Naturally
Weeding tools and chemicals can get the job done. However, there are actually a lot of different ways to eliminate these garden pests naturally. To that end, we have assembled our own personal list of 5 natural ways to kill weeds for good:
- By hand: If your weed problem isn’t too bad, you can probably handle the situation with nothing more elaborate than a good pair of protective gardening gloves. Simply grasping and pulling the weed out can be effective. Just make sure you get the entire root. If you want to use a small digging instrument to help you, by all means. Just keep in mind that this method can be fairly intensive. If you’re dealing with a lot of weeds, we would suggest trying a different suggestion. If you can pull out the weeds before they go to seed, all the better.
- Newspapers: Yes, you read that correctly. Creating a carpet of newspaper over an area will prevent that area from getting the sunlight and oxygen it needs to grow. You can see where we are going with this. Not only are you going to smother the weeds that are already sprouting up, but you will also be making it impossible for new weeds to start growing. All you need to do is cover the area with 10-sheet layers of newspaper. Make sure the newspaper is made wet, and then add just a bit of mulch. Should weeds continue to grow, repeat the pattern of wet newspaper and a thin layer of mulch. Eventually, the weeds will die, and the results will eventually decompose to nourish the soil.
- Corn meal: If you happen to have some corn meal on hand, you’re in luck. Sprinkling some corn meal on your garden will prevent the seeds of weeds from taking hold. However, corn meal prevents anything in its path from growing, so avoid putting it down where you actually garden. If you can’t do that, wait until the garden itself is established for the season.
- Apple vinegar: This is another where the odds are good that you have some in your house already. However, this is another option that doesn’t know the difference between your weeds and the rest of your plants. Avoid adding this to your plants if it all possible. A spray bottle is perhaps the best way to distribute the apple vinegar, but make sure you’re doing the work on a beautiful, preferably cloudless day. Sunlight makes apple vinegar particularly potent.
- Weed torches: We were hesitant to include this one. There is a slight learning curve to weed torches that some find frustrating. Nonetheless, as long as you maintain a certain distance, in order to wilt and not burn the weeds, you should be just fine.
Conclusion
Weeds do not have to be a headache for your beautiful garden. Try any of the five natural weed killer methods we have highlighted above.
