Practicing the right garden weed control from planting throughout the end of harvest will greatly reduce your workload. If you want more fun and less fuss when growing your own healthy food and flowers, it’s important to get started as early as possible.
Garden Weed Control: An Ounce of Weed Prevention
The old adage about the ounce of prevention being worth a pound of cure is never truer than when it comes to the home garden. Weeds quickly soak up nutrients needed for your vegetables to grow. Your results will be stunted and less plentiful, if you manage to get them at all. Weeds are frustrating enough to overwhelm many gardeners; it’s best to do what you can to prevent pesky weed growth by utilizing any one of a variety of methods to keep invasive species from breaking the surface of the soil.
Easy methods for weed prevention include:
- Layers of cardboard and newspaper
- Black plastic barriers of at least 3 ml thickness
- Mesh garden cloth
- Organic mulch
Experts from the UGA College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences say barrier methods are effective for one growing season. Put into practice before weeds begin to break through the soil, physical barriers can go a long way in reducing your workload.
Taking care of the weeds in your lawn can also prevent a spread to your garden. Speak with a lawn care provider early about the weed control methods best for your yard.
Effective Weed Removal Methods
Unfortunately, there’s no way to keep every weed out. Birds, pests, wind, pets and other carriers make sure your garden will eventually have unwanted guests. And, when prevention methods for garden weed control fail, physical removal and bio/chemical control come into play.
First of all, tilling your garden early helps to destroy developing weeds. You can also mow tall weeds close to the ground and dig others up with the use of a hoe. Furthermore, every gardener should count on picking a few weeds by hand as well. And, plenty of common weeds begin to break the surface around the same time your seeds are sprouting. So, prevent them from taking over your garden by identifying them early, and weeding them out.
The following weeds are commonly found in Georgia gardens and lawns:
- Bull thistle
- Plantain
- Chickweed
- Carpetweed
- Fleabane
- Groundsel
- Dandelions
- Purslane
- Ragweed
Others may be common in your area. Most importantly, speak with a gardening professional regarding any budding plants you don’t recognize. It’s always easier to root them out while young, before they have a chance to drop more seeds.
So, what do you do when there are too many to control? Call an expert regarding the biological and chemical garden weed control options available. Heat, specially formulated applications, and the introduction of certain insects can help to control invasive growth.
Go over winning garden weed control methods with the experts. Call Think Green Lawn Service at (678) 648-2556.
