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Ah, weeds-the bane of every gardener. But unless you plan on breeding toxic chemicals alongside your prize heirloom tomatoes, it's time to nix the poisons and opt for safer, organic methods of nipping the garden invaders in the bud, instead. The best way to prevent weeds from overwhelming your patch of dirt? Remove them before they produce seed. Here are some helpful pointers on how to do just that, courtesy of Natural Home:
1. Mulch the garden: Use weed-free mulches such as leaves, straw, or grass clippings. Bonus: Grass clippings have 4 percent nitrogen and provide a slow-release fertilizer as they decompose.
2. Apply corn gluten: A byproduct of corn processing, this nontoxic, plant-based herbicide can be used on transplants to kill germinating seeds, while providing nitrogen to the soil. Note that corn gluten may contain genetically modified corn, so look for organic versions. 3. Let your garden go stale: For direct-seeded plants, allow your garden to go stale by letting it just sit there. Then, water the bed. When a crop of weed seedlings rear their heads, whack 'em with a weeding instrument . Take care not to disturb the soil too much, however, because you don't want to bring new seeds to the surface.
4. Set the weeds on fire: Flame weeding, commonly used by organic farmers, uses propane-gas burners to produce a directed flame to sear the leaves, causing weeds to wilt and die.
6. Give your plants some space: If your soil fertility allows, and you don't have problems with fungal disease, you can prevent weed growth by spacing plantings so that the mature crops will completely shade the spaces between rows, denying weeds the sunlight they need.
7. Bare the soil: Most effective in hot (or very cold) dry weather, the bare-fallowing technique involves tilling or plowing the weed-infected area every time you see green growth, or every seven to 10 days.
8. Smother out weeds: Vigorous cover crops, also known as "smother crops," such as Sudan grass, buckwheat, cowpeas, rye, and hairy vetch, force weeds to exhaust themselves by competing for the same resources. Be sure to cut down your smother crop before it produces its own seeds, however, or you'll have a whole other problem on your hands.
Difficulty level: Moderate
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