Weed Control
How do I recognize a 'weed'?
That can be hard in a mixed planting. Some years I'll go out in the spring, and I'll look around, and I'll go "Did I plant that? Is that something new?" So, even for the "expert", it's sometimes hard to determine, but really a weed is a plant growing out of place. So, if it's a plant in your garden that you don't intend for it to be there, that can be a weed.
When should I start getting rid of weeds in my garden?
Try to control weeds early in their growth cycle. You definitely want to prevent any seed formation on weeds because once the plants go to seed, you're going to have problems with that plant for several years, because the seed can lie dormant in the soil. So getting weeds out early will be your best defense.
What is the best way to get rid of weeds in a new garden bed?
For the best way to get rid of weeds in a new garden bed, this is the one time where I will often resort to chemicals. Most of my gardening is, I'd say, at least 98% organic, but I will use a non-selective herbicide such as Glyphosate, when I'm preparing a new area for myself, or for a client. It's important to control perennial weeds at the start because, often, we're putting in a huge amount of perennials, and we don't want competition with the perennial weeds. So, using this non-selective herbicide ensures that everything is killed from that area, and it has a very low residual effect once it comes in contact with the soil.
How do I get rid of weeds if I don't want to use chemicals?
If you want to take an organic approach to weed control you have to be patient. It takes a little longer. You'd need to cover the area or black out the area. Use newspaper and mulch - cover the newspaper with mulch or leaves and leave that on the area for at least six months.
How do I get rid of weeds in established gardens?
Nothing like hand pulling in this situation, and really just using a nice little tool like a Japanese weeding knife. There's a cobra head weeding device that can be used and you can even use a hoe if it's a pretty large area of the weeds and break those weeds and go from there.
Should I use a chemical weed control in an established garden?
It's difficult to use a chemical weed control in an established bed because of the risk of damage to the plants - the desirable plants that are there. You can come in and just touch the tips with a non-selective herbicide and that will sometimes work. What you can do is wear plastic gloves as the first layer. Come in with a layer of cloth glove overtop and have the herbicide on the cloth glove, then go in and just touch the tips of the weeds.
What do I do if I have an infestation of weeds?
Sometimes if it's really bad, it often requires replanting the bed - I'm afraid to say. If you've allowed it to go for many years and the weeds have pretty much taken over the bed, it's very difficult. This is because even when we pull or we hoe, anything we do like that, sometimes we're breaking the plant off and we're leaving the root in the ground. Therefore, we're constantly battling, or actually, propagating the plant by breaking the root and having it grow in many spots. So sometimes, we pretty much have to start from scratch again.
