Affordable Organic Weed Control

Weeds can spoil the look of a flowerbed, rob valuable nutrients from the soil and can be a general nuisance. If you don’t keep up with them, they can be even more troublesome to get rid of. While they can be difficult to get under control, don’t lose hope. It just takes a little persistence and know-how.

Read on for some organic methods for controlling weeds.

Use of a Stirrup Hoe

The most effective method I have found for controlling weeds works best in a vegetable garden planted in rows and on young weed seedlings. You use a stirrup hoe to cultivate the ground at least once a week. This hoe is like a regular hoe, but instead of a flat surface, there is a round or squared-off metal hoop at the end. The side closest to you has a sharp edge, which cuts the weeds’ roots as you are hoeing through the soil.

It doesn’t take much time to go out and work your hoe down each row, and by doing this, no weeds can grow because seedlings are uprooted or cut off before they have a chance. You will have to weed by hand up close and in between garden plants because the stirrup hoe can uproot or damage them if worked too close.

Use of a Pitchfork

By using a pitchfork in a new and/or large bed with little or no existing plants, you will be able to get most of the roots of long-rooted weeds. It also enables you to cover a large area faster. To use a pitchfork for weed control, push it under a group of weeds and lift them. Shake the soil off the weeds and dispose of them in the compost pile.

Related: How To Get Started Composting on the Cheap

Vinegar or Boiling Water

If you spot a weed growing in the sidewalk cracks of your sidewalk or in your driveway, try pouring boiling water or vinegar over them. Don’t do this in your flowerbeds because it could also kill neighboring plants.

Mulch

Use lots of mulch. As long as mulch is applied thick enough to keep sunlight from reaching the soil, it will keep new weeds from sprouting. You can use grass clippings, shredded and chipped branches, beauty bark, hay, leaves or compost.

Related: 5 Sources of Free and Extremely Cheap Mulch for Your Yard and Garden

Hand Picking

Take a walk through the yard equipped with a bucket and gloves as often as possible and hand-pick weeds. Try to pick them before they flower to prevent them from going to seed and seeding themselves all over the yard. Also, be sure to get all the roots; if you don’t, the weed will more than likely be back in a couple of weeks.

I hope this guide can help you in controlling your weeds. The key to getting and staying weed-free is persistence. You have to stay on top of it by checking your gardens regularly and maintaining what needs to be done.

Related:

• 12 Frugal Landscape Tips for Filling Your Yard With Plants
• Create a Dream Garden on Less Than $200 Per Year
• Inexpensive Landscaping Ideas for the Frugal Homeowner
• Cheap and Free Sources of Landscaping Materials

Reviewed April 2024