Part III of Chem-Free Gardening Series

Regular weeding is essential to the health of any garden. Weeds can take over your garden and make it look messy and overgrown. For the same reasons that you don’t want to use chemical pesticides in your garden (read our previous articles HERE), using an organic herbicide to eliminate weeds will help you, your garden, and the environment to stay healthy and safe. 

Herbicide 1: Landscape Fabric 

Before planting anything, you can set a good foundation for keeping weeds out by putting down a layer of landscape fabric. This will block out the sunlight weeds need and keep them from growing. If you don’t want to buy the fabric, you can also use cardboard or newspaper as a substitute. 

Herbicide 2: Mulch 

In addition, you can supplement your weed defense by covering your landscape fabric with mulch. Mulch is a perfect way to keep weeds out while adding to the aesthetic appeal of your garden. It not only keeps the weeds away, but it’s also great for your soil because it keeps it nice and moist. 

Herbicide 3: Boiling Water

For weeds that aren’t in the middle of your plants, use boiling water to kill their roots. You can even just use leftover boiling water from cooking. Just pour the water over the weeds, being careful not to get any water on plants you want to keep. The boiling water will kill your plants’ roots. It might take a little time, but you’ll see the weeds start to slowly die.

Herbicide 4: Tea

Moisture on your plants is a sure way to attract parasites and disease. One major culprit is fungi. Therefore, if fungi are an issue, Chamomile tea sprinkled on the plant can be effective

Herbicide 5: Baking Soda

To treat powdery mildew on plants, combine baking soda with a small dollop of liquid soap, added to water.

Herbicide 6: White Vinegar

White vinegar is a very effective weed killer. Load up your spray bottle with white vinegar and spray the weeds away so you don’t have to break your back removing them by hand. 

Herbicide 7: Old Fashioned Way

If all else fails, you may have to resort to getting some good knee pads and pull the weeds out yourself! The best time to weed is when the soil is moist. You can use a trowel to make sure you pull the weed out from its roots. Just make sure not to dig up too much of the soil so you don’t expose it to existing weed seeds. 

Summary

In conclusion, f you’re overwhelmed by a weed takeover in your garden, don’t sweat it. This list of natural alternative solutions just shows that you can find easy ways to keep the weeds out, without having to introduce those nasty chemicals.

**Look for the next post in our series on what you can use as a natural weed killer! Remember to let us know what you think in the comments or in our Facebook group!**