How To Get Rid Of Weeding In The Garden

2024 Author: Sebastian Paterson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:47

The principle of the lazy but reasonable - do not weed

How so? Everything will grow! However, not weeding does not mean at all: not to fight weeds. It is imperative to fight with them, otherwise these natural children of nature will oust from the site the stepsons of nature - our cultivated plants. Nature has rewarded its own children with extraordinary vitality, so weeds will certainly win in the struggle for a place in the sun.

So what do you do? How that, systematically cut perennial weeds at the root. And they must be cut at the age when it is easiest to do it, that is, when the weeds are no more than 5-15 cm high. You can use the Fokin flat cutter or the Strizh weeder, or any other device. And shave the weeds off the face of the earth. The best result is given by a slight burial of the tool into the soil by 2-3 cm. You simply cut the weeds and immediately leave them on the soil.

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What does it do?

First, weeds are suppressed. During the growing season, no plant can do without an aerial part for a long time. Roots that do not receive their share of the chlorophyll in green leaves are doomed to death. Of course, from the buds of renewal on the roots, new stems will immediately go. And you again - at the root. Do not let them only grow taller than 5-15 cm. So, having made 3-4 cuts per season, you will get rid of weeds.

Cut weeds should not be composted. Leaving them in place, you mulch the soil with them, and its top layer does not dry out or collapse. And then this layer of weeds, gradually rotting, returns fertility to the soil. In addition, you get rid of the unnecessary work of carrying weeds into the compost, and in the fall - from distributing the compost that has rotted over the past year over the area. It should be taken into account that the roots of the weeds, which remain without the aboveground part, will die, and then, rotting, will provide additional nutrition for the roots of cultivated plantings. That is, you will additionally enrich the soil with humus exactly as it happens in nature.

Why shouldn't we weed after all?

If we weed regularly, the result will be the same. But the difference is that by cutting the growth point below the ground or mowing the above-ground part, you induce re-growth of the same stem. One. And as soon as you dig up or pluck the weed, then on all the scraps of the root system remaining in the soil, the buds of renewal will immediately wake up, and this will provoke the growth of several weeds instead of one. It's very easy to check. Dig up one dandelion plant in the spring and cut another dandelion plant next to it. After a couple of weeks, you will see that one plant reappeared in the place of the cut one, and a lot in the place of the torn one. This is another survival device that Mother Nature has bestowed on her children. They renew themselves from the smallest part of the root or rhizome remaining in the ground.

There is another way: you can cover the area that you need to get rid of weeds with opaque material for one to two years, and the weeds under this shelter will die. Black films can be used as covering material, although it is best to use black spunbond or lutrasil, since they allow water and air to pass through, but prevent weed growth.

So, we have learned how to deal with perennial rhizome weeds.

But what about weed seeds in vegetable beds?

Here you cannot do without weeding! It turns out that they can be strongly squeezed in the beds. In any case, you can do without the tedious many hours of weeding. For this, weeds must be grown in advance in the beds. In the spring, as soon as you arrive at your site, it is better even before the last snow melts, otherwise scatter ash or peat on the beds right over the snow to slightly blacken their surface. Then cover the beds with scraps of old film, pressing them with some kind of poles so that the wind does not carry the film away. In the spring, the sun is hot, and under the layer of film the blackened snow in the beds will quickly melt, the surface layer of the soil will warm up, and weeds will quickly sprout from it. This will happen in about 10-12 days.

If after two weeks you visit your site and see that the weeds have sprouted, remove the film, loosen the topsoil and leave the beds open for a day. Young shoots of weeds will die. After a day, cover the beds with foil again and calmly leave for another 1-2 weeks. Arriving at the site a second time, you will again see weed shoots under the film. These are the seeds sprout from deeper layers of the soil. Repeat the same operation again. In a day, you can sow seeds in beds that are free from weeds.

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But at the same time, you must understand that such a bed is not dug up before sowing! Otherwise, you will again carry new weed seeds from the lower layers of the soil into the upper layer, and they will sprout safely. The labor of preliminary cultivation of weeds in the garden is small and not at all difficult. It is important to get all these jobs done on time. But such a simple event for the preliminary cultivation of weeds in the garden bed will save you from laborious weeding of the beds throughout the season.

If you didn’t have time to do this, arrived at the site, and all the vegetable beds are covered with a green carpet of weeds, then take the "Strizh" weeder or Fokin's flat cutter - and go! It is necessary to cut off all the weeds from the surface of the beds, sinking 4-5 cm into the soil, and leave them on the ridge for a day. After that, make furrows, spill them well with water (preferably from a kettle), apply the necessary fertilizers and sow seeds of vegetables and herbs. Then lightly level the soil in the crops, compact with a board and cover the beds with old film. Secure it. Before emergence, the film will retain moisture and warmth in the soil. Naturally, as soon as the seedlings have appeared, the film must be removed, and the aisles must be loosened to destroy the weed seedlings.

Weeds can be left directly in the garden if the weather is dry. Agree, it is much easier to walk 2-3 times a season with a weeder or a small Fokin flat cutter among the crops than to weed the beds for hours, kneeling. You just need to accustom yourself to some discipline, and do this work on time.