Weeds are a home gardeners’ biggest enemy often becoming quite a nuisance in and around the garden. They compete with garden plants for light, water, nutrients and space. For some gardeners managing weeds in the garden is not a favourite task- it’s more like a necessary evil .
Roundup and other chemicals may seem like the best weapon in the arsenal against weeds. However, many experts discourage the use of chemicals.
Most herbicides are not recommended for use on vegetables or other edible plants since they can leach into fruits and vegetables.
Moreover, they are more expensive and less effective than many other methods.
Here are three generally agreed upon tips for effective weed control in the garden.
MIND THE GAPS BETWEEN PLANTS
Close plant spacing chokes out emerging weeds by shading the soil between plants.
You can prevent weed-friendly gaps from the start by designing with mass plantings or in drifts of closely spaced plants rather than with polka dots of widely scattered ones.
You can usually shave off about 25 per-cent from the recommended spacing.
Most spacing recommendations, however, are based on the assumption that adjoining plants will barely touch when they reach mature size, so you may have to stick with the spacing guidelines when working with plants that are prone to foliar diseases.
Here too the principle of companion planting – the planting of different crops in proximity for pest and weed control can come in handy.
As is known , companions help each other grow—Tall plants, for example, provide shade for sun-sensitive shorter plants while at the same killing weeds by depriving them of sunlight.
WEED WHEN THE WEEDING IS GOOD
The old saying “Pull when wet; hoe when dry” is wise advice when facing down weeds. After a drenching rain, stage a rewarding weeding session by equipping yourself with gloves (if necessary) , a sitting pad, and a tarp for collecting the corpses.
When the soil is wet pulling weeds is naturally quite easy.
Under dry conditions, weeds sliced off just below the soil line promptly shrivel up and die, especially if your hoe has a sharp edge.
WATER THE PLANTS YOU WANT NOT THE WEEDS YOU’VE GOT
Put drought on your side by depriving weeds of water.
Where feasible, use drip, ooze, or furrow irrigation to water your garden.
Drip and ooze irrigation systems place water directly in the root zone of plants and apply it slowly enough for plants to absorb most of it soon after it reaches the roots, so little moisture is left over to support weeds. leaving nearby weeds thirsty.
By contrast, overhead irrigation systems apply water indiscriminately over the soil surface, providing water to both garden plants and weeds.
Depriving weeds of water reduces weed-seed germination by 50 to 70 percent.
But weed seeds can remain dormant for a long long time.
Watch out for the appearance of deeply rooted perennial like nut sedge in areas that are kept moist.
Watering by hand works, too, but it’s often tedious .
So Drip irrigation is a quick way to water your plants and not your weeds. (END).