Few things are as unsettling as finding weeds growing in your garden or yard. Not only do they look unsightly, but they also have a nasty habit of spreading if left unchecked. These five tips will help you to find and remove those nasty weeds on your own or with the help of a professional lawn care service such as Gardening Angels.
1. Use the Right Tools for the Job
Plucking weeds by hand is a sure way to hurt your back as well as your hands, so don’t do it. Instead, look for simple tools like a knife or trowel to dig away around the weed and to remove it, roots included. Also, be careful not to slice through roots, which could leave them still able to spread afterwards.
Hoes and weeding tools can also help to make the job a lot less tiresome. Always be sure to keep a bucket nearby for proper disposal of the weeds. You don’t want to let them sit in a pile where the seeds can be left behind to spread once again. Calling a reliable professional lawn care service is always a good idea as they have the equipment and expertise to do this right and in a timely manner.
2. Mind the Soil
Moist soil is a lot easier to work with than dry soil, so be sure to go out weed hunting when the soil is adequately wet to make it easier on you. Weeds can dig tough roots and so you’ll want to be sure that you’re able to remove them thoroughly. If your yard or garden is completely wet, it probably isn’t a good idea to go out plucking weeds either, because you’ll get very dirty and may change the soil structure.
3. Use Proper Technique
Although tools can help you dig around the roots of the weeds, some will require your hands in order to be plucked fully. Don’t do this with your bare hands. It’s going to go a lot better if you’re wearing gardening gloves with grips on the fingers. Make sure your gardening gloves for weed plucking are different than your other gardening gloves to avoid the risk of spreading seeds.
Grab the weed by the top of the roots and not the leaves. Twist and pull upon the roots in order to remove it completely. Pulling from the leaves can leave you with a broken weed and the possibility of roots or seeds being left behind to spread again.
4. Pluck the Roots or Kill the Weed?
If you’re interested in another way of removing weeds without having to yank them out of the ground, there is another alternative. Plucking the weed directly and removing all traces of roots and seeds is of course the quickest way to get it out of sight and out of mind, but if you can’t be bothered to go through all of that work, you may wish to consider drenching the weed in boiling water or applying salt at the bottom of each weed. It won’t kill the weed immediately and it will take some time for it to wither away.
5. Prevention is the Best Medicine
You’ve eliminated all of the weeds. Great! Now what? In order to prevent or mitigate the return of weeds, you’ll want to keep your lawn and garden soils healthy. Healthy and well-fed and maintained soils attract less weed growth than neglected ones, so be sure to treat the soil with the respect it deserves.
Mulching is a great addition to your garden because mulch attracts all sorts of insects that naturally feast on weed seeds and keep it under control. The porous material also keeps the underlying soil moister and cooler since it helps to reduce sunlight. This helps keep weeds away.
Final Thoughts
Weeding is a necessary step for any homeowner to maintain a respectable garden and yard. It’s a time and labour-intensive chore that carries with it certain risks. Sloppy jobs lead to weeds spreading even more and resulting in a never-ending cycle of plucking. While it’s possible to do this job yourself, you’ll have much greater peace of mind and a great opportunity to prevent the spread of future weeds by calling professional Melbourne lawn care experts.