Spring has well and truly sprung, and that can only mean one thing: summer is just around the corner. That means that you will be starting to get outside more and enjoy your garden. But there are probably a whole load of jobs that you haven’t got round to yet.
When you are extremely proud of your garden environment, the last thing that you want is for weeds to come along and ruin everything. While you can go on a good weeding strategy from time to time, better still is to use a strategy that is going to keep them at bay in the most effective way possible. With this in mind, here are a few top tips for effective garden weed control.
Mulch Your Plants
Putting down mulch around your plants can end up doing a great job of keeping the soil cool, as well as depriving the surrounding weeds of the light that they need to survive and thrive. Remember that you need to keep doing this on a regular basis in order for it to be effective. Also, it is certainly worth brushing up on an effective mulching technique which is going to do the job in the way that you need to.
Choose the Best Time for Weeding
Whether you are trying to get rid of Japanese knotweed plants or another run-of-the-mill weed, you should choose the most appropriate time to start tackling them. After your garden has experienced a serious deluge of rain, this is an ideal situation to don a pair of gloves and start pulling up a weed or two! Make sure that you have all of the necessary hand tools as well that can end up making your overall job an awful lot easier.
Lop Their Heads
It is sometimes the case that you are not going to be able to remove weeds right at their roots. In this situation, the next best thing is to start lopping off their heads. This is going to buy you a few weeks of time when the problem is not going to get out of control and be a real source of frustration further down the line. Cutting off the head of bindweed will force it to use up its food reserves and limit the spread of it. The right weed whacker can help to deal with this in the most effective manner possible.
Space Out Your Plants Appropriately
The next piece of advice is a good general one for your garden anyway. You should space out your plants properly. This will prevent any weed-friendly gaps from occurring when these plants will take advantage. Follow any spacing recommendations depending on the different plants that you are putting into your garden.
There are all kinds of jobs that you can do to make your garden a more attractive place to while away the hours on sunny days. Tidying up the flower beds is a simple enough job to start off with. You should start by clearing out any weeds and using a spade to redefine the edges. Next, you can till the first couple of inches of soil and be careful not to disturb bulbs that may be below. Then you will need to add two to three inches of mulch to encourage growth.
Water Your Plants, Not the Weeds
The other main action that you can attempt to take is to deprive the weeds of water entirely. A drip or soaker hose can help to effectively irrigate your plants, and this can help to cut back on weed-seed germination in a big way. Of course, this method takes a little bit more effort, but if you are serious about ridding your garden of those terrible weeds, it is one that is worth it in the long run.
Clean the Walkway and Patio
During the winter months, it is more than likely that any outdoor paths, patios and decking that you have has become littered with dirt, debris and weeds. The best way to clear all this off is with a pressure washer. You can then go about replacing any slabs or tiles that have become damaged, or possibly just flip them over. On concrete walkways, you can fill in the cracks with filler that matches the colour.
By following these different pieces of advice, you can really help to keep that weed problem firmly at bay in your garden.
