8 All Natural Weed Killers

Making your own 8 All Natural Weed Killers is a must if you have a flower garden, a vegetable garden, or an orchard, as these perennial pests always seem to get the best of us.  They appear out of nowhere, usually overnight, and will literally take over your garden, your walkway, your driveway, everywhere imaginable if you don’t stay on top of them. And if your anything like me and do all the landscaping yourself (I mean seriously, if my husband won’t get me my own maid, do you really think he’s going to get me a gardener? lol – as if), there are some solutions to controlling those pesky buggers. I’ve included my own tried solutions along with the 8 NATURAL WEED KILLERS.

In my vegetable gardens I’ve tried: STRAW – (don’t confuse straw with hay, because hay will eventually turn the area into grass – been there, made that mistake already) somewhat effective but you need to keep an eye on the covered area because the weeds will eventually make their way thru the mulch.  Straw is really effective around strawberries (hence the name STRAWberries); GRASS CLIPPINGS – a great live mulch to use and one that I use around my vegetables, however you really must have a lot of lawn to cut to effectively ban the weeds from reappearing (and trust me, they will begin to peek thru the grass, especially if you don’t lay down a thick layer); NEWSPAPER – what a mess and what a waste of time because weeds will grow right thru the paper (and don’t make the mistake of laying down newspaper when there’s even the slightest bit of wind – it will blow everywhere. Again – been there, made that mistake already too); LEAVES – an awesome mulch/weed barrier, however you definitely need to have trees around your area that shed leaves and not just pine needles; CARDBOARD – I do this one to cover the walkways in my garden, it is definitely one of the best ways to keep weeds at bay; and lastly WOOD CHIPS – yes they are appealing to the eye, but quite costly and a real pain to pick thru and clean once the weeds make their way up – and believe me they will.

Then of course you could always go with the commercial poison method, but seriously – who in their right mind would spray poison around fruit and vegetables when your main goal is to serve your produce on a plate to you and your family? This makes absolutely no sense to me and therefore I stay far away from that crap. So what else is there?

Try using organic, natural products, especially ones you can create on your own. By making your own sprays: your not wasting tons of money on commercial herbicides, your helping the environment (especially YOUR OWN ENVIRONMENT), your promoting healthier flowers and vegetables, and most importantly you won’t be ingesting any dangerous chemicals that are left on your produce. Its as simple as that.

So if you too are having a bit of a problem with weeds in your yard, gardens or just about anywhere, check out this article by Carrie N. Culpepper at Home Sessive, called 8 Natural Weed Killers. Here she gives some easy to make solutions and some weed control barriers, for tackling and controlling those pesky weeds, all of which are EL NATURAL.  So good luck, may the force be with you, and cheers to a bountiful organic crop this season 🙂

Weed Killers: 8 Natural Methods by Carrie N. Culpepper

If you’re like most avid gardeners, you can’t wait for the first signs of spring to surface. Unfortunately, that includes garden weeds, which start to emerge as soon as the last frost of the year is gone. Use these last weeks of winter to practice some necessary weed control before digging into your spring gardening checklist.

We rounded up the best organic weed control methods and products in three categories: home remedies, eco-friendly weed killer, and home barriers.

Pick your poison based how extensive your weed problem is and how much you’re willing to spend.

VINEGAR works against pesky weeds but may require multiple applications to do the trick. It works better with the help of some sun. But be sure the forecast doesn’t call for rain; the vinegar needs some time to set in.

CORNMEAL prevents weed seeds from germinating when sprinkled on the soil. It’s best to wait until after your seeds sprout to make sure the cornmeal doesn’t harm your new plants. In addition to its weed control properties, cornmeal attracts worms, which loosen up the soil.

BOILING WATER is probably the simplest thing to use, but make sure not to douse your plants – or burn yourself.

SALT is another simple solution but needs to be applied carefully because salt can poison the soil. A spoonful is all that’s needed to kill dandelions and other similar weeds but it’s best restricted to gravel areas and those not intended for plants.

WEED-ASIDE HERBICIDAL SOAP is a fatty acid weed killer that dehydrates plant tissue. It works on weeds, unwanted grass, algae and moss that have already sprouted.

BURNOUT is an organic horticultural vinegar comprised of 20 percent vinegar rather than kitchen vinegar’s five percent. It’s a good alternative to toxic weed killers.

WEED CONTROL BARRIERS:
This style of weed control is a bit more involved, but the effects can last longer. The barrier keeps out light and must be heavy enough to prevent weeds from growing through it.

NEWSPAPER forms a natural barrier against weeds, but be sure to remove the color pages because the chemicals in the colored ink will get into the soil.

GARDEN MULCH spread on top of weed control fabric produces a similar effect. It will not prevent tough weeds from growing through but it can prevent weed seeds from sprouting. And on top of the fabric, mulch decomposes more slowly, helping to keep the soil moist for plants.

And there you have it – the 8 Natural Weed Killers.  Give them a go this growing season and let me know how they work for you.  Until then CIAO 🙂