Weeding

The age old problem faced by each and every one of us is that of unwanted plants growing within our gardens. Popularly known as ‘weeds’, these unforgiving extras slowly take up all the nutrition from the soil that we actually build up for our plants. Read more to learn about this.

Weed Control and Prevention

These competitive weeds fight with our crop for not only water and nutrients, but for space too. Out of nowhere they sprout up and along with harming our gardens, they stain the beauty of it as well.

There are many ways in which weeds adversely affect our yards, some of which are listed below.

  1. Compete and take up space, nutrients, sunlight etc.
  2. They provide refuge to insects and pests.
  3. Some types of weeds are so harmful that they release poisonous substances into the soil, harming the whole garden as well as animals and people.

Hence, weeds deteriorate the quality of our gardens immensely, if not removed from time to time. The problem with a weed is that it is not very easy to eliminate due to its ‘natural prowess’. They germinate at an early stage and mature faster than many plants. Also, a single weed can be responsible for the production of a large number of seeds.weed control

How then, do we solve this problem? The answer is to remove the weeds out. This process is known as weeding. Weeding is very essential for any garden because of many reasons. It helps to not only get a healthier crop, but is very useful in altering the microclimate around the plants, thus reducing humidity. This is very positive for the worms that help your soil. Another advantage is that it helps loosen the soil in turn helping the roots of plants grow in a better manner.

The most common and simple method of weeding is doing it manually. Even though it is utterly tiring and frustrating, its benefits can be truly rewarding. Several methods include:

  1. Physical Methods

This method is very laborious, time consuming and yet the most effective. It involves hand weeding, tilling, mowing etc as methods of weed control.

  1. Cropping Methods

Well, this is an interesting one. It involves planting those plants that actually compete with weeds and give them strict competition. The varieties that are adapted to the region work best for this method.

  1. Chemical Methods

As the name suggests, it involves spraying chemicals that prevent and kill any weed in your garden. These chemicals are generally known as weedicides. We strongly advise against using any such chemicals in your garden.

The above are some solutions to weeds that are already happily sprouting around. How to prevent them from growing in the first place is entirely another ball game, and a simple one at that. Here are a few tips to keep in mind to ensure weed control and prevention:

  1. Mulch

Adding mulch is a very good preventive method as bare soil is the best invitation for weeds to grow. Organic material like shredded leaves etc work just fine.

  1. Aerate the Soil

By hoeing around the garden every once in a while, you loosen any weeds that may be starting to grow.

  1. Plant Cover Crops

Always keeps the soil covered by some plant as bare soil is home to the weeds.

Always remember that working with moist soil and weeding regularly can help you to get rid of these unwanted guests. By inculcating these few tips, one can decrease the amount of weeds growing in the garden to a large extent. So, simply work out the weeds and wave away the worries!

Happy Gardening

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