The heavy rains and warm weather of past months means grass and gardens are growing like jungles – including plants you wish would not make an appearance.
Once you’ve mown and trimmed the edges, the biggest task in most gardens is weeding. It’s back-breaking work and can be hard on the knees so any strategy that helps keep them at bay is worth following.
Below are five tips to help rid them from your garden.
Tools for the task
Don’t make the job any harder than it is already. Arm yourself with a fork for flat weeds and a trowel for those with deep roots. Always wear gloves as many common weeds have thorns, spikes or will irritate your skin. Use a screwdriver on weeds that have taken root in the grout of pavers. You might want to poison them first (another reason to wear gloves!)
Root of the issue
When pulling out weeds, make sure you get the roots out, too. Use a hand held garden fork or hoe to dig in underneath and make this easy. Always place your weeds in a plastic bag or bucket (not directly on the lawn!) to avoid their seeds spreading.
Be consistent
If you weed your garden once a week or so, you’ll find those little blighters start to disappear. It won’t be long before weeding is no longer such an arduous task. Remain vigilant, though. You can’t stay weed-free without some effort.
Regular mow
Weeds often reside in your lawn. You can use commercial products that “weed and feed” your lawn. Regularly mowing the lawn will get the job done so long as you use the grass catcher. Weeds hate being cut.
Long-term strategy
Placing plants close together is a sound minimisation strategy as weeds need sunlight. Laying down mulch is also a good strategy as it restricts light to weeds under the soil and encourages worms and nurtures the plants you love.
Move it
The definition of a weed is any plant running amok in a garden or growing in the wrong spot. They don’t have to all be noxious – sometimes perfectly lovely plants can just get out of control and take over and look untidy. When this happens, try pulling them out and potting them up or moving them to a new spot in the garden. You can also offer them to a friend or neighbour as a garden gift. Not every plant in your garden has to be purchased at a nursery!