Chemical-Free Weed Prevention Tactics

If there's one thing all gardeners hate, it is weeds. Fortunately, there are a number of chemical-free tactics you can use to control weeds in your garden. And in the long run, most of them will be cheaper than spending money on toxic, synthetic chemical weed controls.

Prevent Weeds Naturally With Other Plants

If you want chemical-free weed control, plant other plants.  Plant the plants that you want, and place them close enough together that there is no bare soil between them. Weeds grow where there is bare earth.  To Mother Nature, the earth is supposed to be covered with plants, so wherever there is bare earth and available space, a plant will grow. You might as well make it a plant you want instead of one you don't.

Mulch Provides Chemical-Free Weed Control

A 2 - 3 inch depth of mulch will provide chemical-free weed control. There are a lot of different materials that can be used as mulch. Mulch works by depleting the top 2 or 3 inches from the surface of the essential nutrients that plants need to grow.  If the mulch is deep enough, it will make it difficult for weed seeds to find soil in which to take root and grow.

Pulling Weeds is Important

As tedious as it may seem, pulling weeds before they go to seed is one of the most important weed prevention tactics available. All it takes is a little time and effort. Repeatedly cutting the tops of the weeds off with a garden hoe can eventually rob them of the means to photosynthesize, causing them to die, but pulling weeds up by the roots and discarding all of the plant is the best way to prevent future weed growth.

Kill Weeds With Vinegar?

A lot has been written recently about vinegar as a chemical-free weed killer. If pulling weeds isn't your thing, you can try spraying them with white vinegar. Vinegar does not actually prevent weeds; it only burns the leaves of weeds that are already in your garden.
Perennial weeds, which come back from the same plant year after year, will continue to grow back. This is because vinegar does not permeate into plant roots. The acetic acid in vinegar turns the leaves of weeds brown, and will work to rid your garden of small annual weeds - those that only grow for one season. However, large, perennial weeds will just keep coming.
Be careful where you spray vinegar or any chemical herbicides. If you accidentally get it on the garden plants you want to keep, you could burn their leaves.

No Magic Cure

When it comes to chemical-free weed prevention,  there is no magic cure. You will need to do some hard work if you want to keep weeds at bay. Set aside 15 minutes per day to pull weeds. Spend a little money on a layer of mulch, or plant your garden so full of the plants you want there will be little room for weeds to take root and grow.

Happy Gardening!

Richard Thyssen, Broker of Record
Colleen Thyssen, Sales Representative
Direct: 519-495-1541
email: richard@thyssengroup.com
www.thyssengroup.com