Six Tips for Garden Weed Control

The best methods for safely controlling garden weeds.

February is a big month for garden weed prevention, especially after rains in December and January. With spring just around the corner, the combination of sunshine and moisture is sure to bring out the weeds. Plan to spend time this month applying a pre-emergent. This is the first step to help prevent garden weeds from overtaking your planted areas. In this blog, we’ve put together six easy tips to keep your garden free of weed growth. Don’t worry if you are reading this after the fact, all of these tips can be helpful for tending to your garden year-round.

1. Apply a pre-emergent

When you’re looking to protect your garden from weeds, but you also want to keep flowers and vegetation beautiful and safe to eat, you need to use a specific pre-emergent. Bug & Weed Mart recommends applying a vegetable and ornamental weeder, which is a pre-emergent product that is completely safe for use on edible plants.

Gardeners rejoice! The process of applying is simple and just takes a little time and effort:

1. Mix the pre-emergent with water using a hose-end sprayer
2. Apply to any garden areas you are concerned about
3. Let the pre-emergent go to work, preventing germination and keeping weeds and grasses from growing in your garden
4. Repeat these steps every six months for the most effective weed preventative

2. Apply a post-emergent

If your garden is already showing signs of weed growth, that means it’s too late for a pre-emergent and you need to kill the unwanted plants in your garden that are there now. Post-emergents work best when applied to young weeds that are still growing compared to mature weeds that had more time to take root. Bug & Weed Mart carries a variety of post-emergents that will kill weeds without harming your garden and it is safe for pets and children. Here is all you have to do:

1. Dig out your pump sprayer (or go get one if you don’t already have one)
2. Add the post-emergent and dilute with water
3. Spray the recommended product directly on the weeds you want to kill
4. The post-emergent gets absorbed and carried down to the root, which kills the weed

With the proper application and usage, all our products are safe. If you are concerned about applying chemicals in your garden, Bug & Weed Mart also carries 21 organic or natural products specifically meant for DIY weed control. All of these products are professional-grade and EPA-registered, not to mention safe and easy to use.

If you would rather avoid applying products to your garden and are a fan of hands-on weed control, try the following tricks for DIY weed control.

3. Avoid digging

Your entire garden is filled with weed seeds. Only the seeds in the top couple of inches are lucky enough to get enough sunlight and germinate. So, it only makes sense that when you dig up and cultivate your garden, you are bringing hidden weed seeds to the surface. One way to avoid unwanted garden weeds is to only dig up areas that are absolutely necessary. You should also immediately salve the area with plants or mulch to starve out potential weeds.

4. Mulch

Mulch is also a great tool that keeps soil cool and moist, denying weeds access to sunlight. Mulch creates a physical barrier that is difficult for weeds to grow through. You do have to be careful that the mulch doesn’t have weed seeds in it, as well as make sure to keep the mulch around 2 inches deep so that the soil can still receive oxygen.

It is also important to cover mulch with something such as bark to help reflect the hot sun and keep the soil underneath from getting too hot and overheating the roots of your garden plants.

Mulch can be made up of many things, including:

• Leaves
• Stone
• Pine needles
• Dried grass
• Newspaper
• Compost
• Old shingles

5. Physically remove weeds

Manually removing weeds that have already started to grow is one of the oldest ways to control weed growth, and it’s also still quite effective if you don’t mind getting a little dirty. You can mow, hoe, shovel or pull weeds to manually remove growing weeds. It typically works best to remove weeds by pulling them when conditions are wet, or by hoeing or shoveling them when it’s dry. Don’t forget to wear sturdy gloves to protect your hands!

6. Water plants you want, dehydrate weeds you don’t

Properly watering your garden is also a good way to combat weeds. This entails specifically watering the plants you want to grow, and depriving weeds you don’t want of the water they need.

One of the best ways to target only the plants you want with water is to install a drip or soaker system underneath a mulch layer. This hydrates the roots of your garden plants while leaving unwanted weeds thirsty. There are a lot of easy, DIY options that you can find online for adding a drip system without breaking the bank or having to hire a professional.

When relying on the drip system approach, you do have to watch out for perennial weeds with established roots. Perennials have the potential to thrive when their roots are given access to consistent water.

If you are interested in learning more about any of the products or approaches mentioned in our blog, stop by one of our Bug & Weed Mart stores, and one of our knowledgeable team members will help you find the best solution to all your weed control problems.