Check out this post for an introduction to this series.
If you live in an area where you have a landscaped yard, and the ever-so-pesky weeds present a seasonal nuisance for you, then what do you typically use to keep them under control? Is your first step to go to the store and pick up some weed killer (herbicide)? Do you use chemical pre-emergent methods to prevent them from growing in the first place? Doesn’t this seem like the “normal” thing to do?
Yes, I must say this does seem like the normal way to go about keeping control of weeds, because with modern chemicals and technology, it has made things seem a bit easier to just spray and forget it. But did you know there are many other effective and easy ways to take care of them, without spraying toxic chemicals?
Next time you have to take care of that unwanted vegetation that creeps up so fast, consider that there are alternatives that can not only save you money over the long run, but can also prevent noxious chemicals from being absorbed by the soil and causing environmental degradation.
But aren’t conventional weed killers safe to use? Without elaborating too much here, just do some quick research online, or merely just read the labels on these products in detail. You may see that they’re not so safe to use after all.
And just from a general viewpoint, the fewer chemicals we dump in the soil, the better!
Don’t forget to consider the true “conventional” methods. Okay, March in the Phoenix area is when the weeds are literally going crazy. We’ve had a very warm winter as well, so the weeds are out especially early this year. Today, I spent some time in the yard removing literally hundreds of small ones. Now, I could have maybe knocked off about 30 minutes of the time I spent out there by using a sprayer, but I would rather spend the additional time using a garden hoe and removing them that way.
If you haven’t used this method for a while, it actually is remarkably easy. You just position it to go under the roots, and just apply minimal pressure. Once you literally knock it out of the ground, roots and all, you just go by and pick up the remains, and throw them in a bucket or can.
I don’t have a lawn; rather, my yard consists of small granite rocks, which is very common in my area. So after using the hoe, it is necessary to go back and rake or straighten out the rocks with a push broom, but that takes very little time.
So when finished, not only were no chemicals used, there were no unsightly wilting or browning weeds left in the yard! Furthermore, this method costs nothing!
But what if you have a lawn? Using a garden hoe may tear it up. What should you do then? Well, one of the easiest methods is to just pull them by the roots. I know this can be a bit labor intensive, but it is really effective as well, and also costs no money. You may be surprised to find that it really doesn’t take that much more time than if you sprayed each weed individually.
These manual methods don’t prevent weeds from growing. What to do? Aside from chemical treatments that treat for pre-emergence, most weed killers only kill existing weeds – they really don’t do much to prevent new ones from growing. And sometimes it takes more than one spraying to fully kill the weeds. There are several different methods organic gardeners use to prevent and control weeds. Check out these websites for more information and useful tips:
http://www.the-organic-gardener.com/organic-weed-control.html
http://cdcg.org/weeds.html
But I don’t have the time to devote to these methods, and would rather use a chemical or other means of fast eradication. Are there some products out there for me? By all means yes! Check out these great vendors and their wide variety of solutions that may help. A good suggestion would be to give them a call as well, before you purchase, to get more information and advice to see if the product you are interested in is right for your situation. Some of the products are for specific types of weeds or applications.
http://www.planetnatural.com/site/xdpy/sgc/Organic%20Lawn%20Care/Weed%20Control
http://www.rittenhouse.ca/asp/menu.asp?MID=144
There really are viable alternatives to what modern society has conditioned us to think is a “normal” way to go about solving common problems. Check back regularly for new installments in this series.
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