Organic Weed Control

Weeds are a problem for almost everyone. Controlling them without harming pets or the environment can be done if you use certain techniques. Organic weed control is becoming more and more popular because it is cheap, safe for the environment and it works!

The most obvious way to get rid of weeds in your yard or garden is to simply remove them by hand. There is actually a technique to this that will help you better control weed growth. If you simply pull the weed out, you can break off roots, allowing the weed to grow right back. Using a shovel or spade does the same thing. Cutting roots can actually allow each root to grow its own plant, causing the weeds to only multiply. Use a small forked garden tool to gently work the roots up out of the soil without damaging them and the weed will not grow back.

If weeds are in your lawn, there is a very simple and safe solution. Mow your grass before weeds have a chance to seed. You may have to be very dedicated to mowing on a schedule, even twice a week, to avoid maturing weeds that can spread. One good thing about weeds is that they add drainability to the soil. This will help your grass to quickly choke out cut weeds. As weeds are eliminated, nitrogen will return to the soil making your grass more aggressively take over future weeds. Make sure that your mower is on a high setting so that your grass will keep cut weeds shaded. Weeds need a lot of sun and cannot grow if the grass is high. Grass that is left longer will also grow slower because it is not in a hurry to make more nutrients for the roots.

You may notice that weeds shoot up after a rain. They love water and can quickly take water from your grass. Make sure that you spot check your lawn after a rain and get rid of any new weeds. Do not water your lawn unless your grass starts to wilt over or seriously dry out. This will help starve out weeds that are waiting to spring up.

Using the right fertilizer can help keep weeds under control. If you have a lot of dandelions, chances are your soil pH is too high. Adding a thin dusting of lime will bring the pH back down to where your grass likes it and the dandelions do not. Use organic compost or organic fertilizers to avoid creating a perfect weed habitat. Weeds generally pop up where grass has a short coming. Creating the right environment for grass will help ensure that weak spots do not occur.

Check with your local nursery to identify weeds. Change your lawn according to which weeds are thriving and your grass can take over. Keep items picked up off of your lawn to avoid creating a weak spot where weeds can grow. For example, leaving your garden hose lying on the ground can block out light, killing grass and creating a perfect spot for a weed to take hold. Use a hose reel to keep your water hose up off of the ground and neatly stored away. When your soil is right, your lawn will be right, without the use of harmful chemicals.

About the Author: Stacy Pessoney is an award winning author and writer of web content for many different web sites. She is well versed in many different areas, including gardening, hose reel, lawn care and landscaping.

Get Rid of Dandelions? No, Grow Them and Eat Them!

Don’t worry that your neighbors will think you’re crazy. Just tell them that your favorite color is yellow or that you’re a horrible gardener and want some success in growing something. While most all of your neighbors are doing their best to rid their yards of dandelions, you will be the lone pioneer, watering them from your garden hose reel, nurturing their growth, and being the sole beneficiary of their medicinal and nutritious worth, that is, until your neighbors catch on.

My four year old son is simply fascinated (as we all were) and enthralled with the fun of blowing the wispy seeds of dandelions into the air. At first, I would admonish him, beg him to cease, telling him that the seeds would produce weeds and not flowers, that we wanted to remove them from our yard, not propagate them. He could only see that the yellow flowers, to him, were pretty, and couldn’t disagree more with their “weediness”. So I performed some research. I remembered distinctly, being from the South, my grandmother, “Mamaw”, using dandelions in salads, combining it with several other “weeds” to make delicious, hearty, and inexpensive fare for us all. I wondered if that was simply frugal cooking, or if there was actually some nutritional value in these yellow-headed scourges dominating my otherwise lush, green lawn. Surprisingly enough, “Mamaw” knew what she was doing and wasn’t just cutting corners to save some money. Dandelions have long been eaten in salads, and their leaves are actually more nutritious than spinach. The benefits of eating dandelion flowers and leaves or by steeping them in a boiling liquid are astounding. Dandelion is an excellent digestive aid, a relaxant to the body and nervous system; steeping it in a pot would help make an excellent bath time beverage for relaxation and as part of a detoxification routine. Dandelion root has long been used as an effective cleanser of the liver and is often a prime component in herbal supplements for just that reason. The uses of dandelion are many and varied and growing a bed of them is easy, requiring little tending as they are wild growing flowers. So that they don’t infringe upon your lawn and other flowers, make sure they are in a raised bed, alone, in full sunlight. Soil conditions are not to be of concern, so save the nutritious additives for your flowers and plants that need them.

With adequate water, sunlight, and little else, your dandelions will soon flourish. Harvesting them young, before the flower bud fully develops will help them be sweeter for your kitchen concoctions. With the rewards you’ll receive, you’ll never look at a dandelion the same way again. Now that crabgrass is a different story.


About the author: Jon Bassfarm is an Internet content writer who enjoys researching and writing about many subjects including garden hose reel and landscaping.