Steer Clear Of Weeds
With Organic Weed Control

Away With Weeds

Are you fond of weeding? We didn't think so. Join the crowd. Organic weed control is one of those necessities that comes with organic vegetable gardening.

Applying harsh chemicals kills weeds quicker but at the same time goes against the grain of natural organic gardening. Relying on natural methods, while more time consuming, is essential in removing weeds from your garden.

Weeds can rob your plants of the nutrients that they depend on to prosper. Left unchecked, weed will choke your garden vegetables out.

Using organic mulch is one of the most time-tested ways to employ organic weed control. By simply keeping light from reaching the soil deters weed growth. Apply mulch a few inches thick and around plants avoiding covering any part of the plant. Mulch also has a secondary benefit in that it works great to keep moisture on your garden for longer periods of time.

Newspaper and Elbow Grease

Grass clippings and straw are sometimes used as a natural organic weed control. When this natural mulch breaks down it works to add nutrients to the soil as a natural organic garden fertilizer.

Some choose to add newspaper to the surface of the soil, which acts as an effective barrier to weeds. If you try the newspaper method, we suggest following behind the paper with organic mulch, straw or grass clippings to improve the effectiveness and appearance of the vegetable garden.

Although these methods we have described should keep your weeds under control, good old-fashioned pulling weeds out will also be required. The key is to not let them get out of control. If you let them start to take over, it will seem like a monumental task to get rid of them all.

If gardening by the yard is your hobby, then visiting your vegetable garden daily is likely. While at the garden, pull the weeds you see. There really shouldn't be that many weeds if you tend to it daily. Try to remove them daily and the chore won't seem insurmountable. Use a small weeding tool if necessary to get any stubborn weeds out that don't want to come out with a gentle tug.

Some people plant ground cover as a method of organic weed control. The ground cover will do what it is supposed to and cover the soil areas around your plants and inhibit the weeds ability to grow. However, this method will require more watering.

Corn Gluten Meal

A relatively new form of organic weed control is corn gluten meal. This natural product is derived during the corn milling process. It was developed by an Iowa State University researcher and is now patented and licensed for use on turf grasses and gardens.

It works similar to its pre-emergent chemical counterpart in that it dries out the weed seed as soon as they open up. This prevents the weed seeds from germinating.

It is only a pre-emergent and will not kill established weeds. As such timing is important when it comes to application. This product is not recommended for application on seeded gardens.

Corn gluten comes in three different forms: unprocessed, granulated and pelletized. Its suggested rates of application depend on the type of weeds that you want to control.

It is reported to control crabgrass, redroot pigweed barnyard grass, dandelions, foxtail, smartweed, purslane and others. (see package for all controlled weeds)

Another benefit of corn gluten is that it is approximately 10% nitrogen. The nitrogen is released slowly to your plants as garden fertilizer.

Other considerations include the cost of corn gluten as a weed control. It is more costly than its chemical counterpart as you might expect. Rainfall also has the potential of diluting its effectiveness.

By using one of the above means of organic weed control, or a couple methods in concert with one another, you should be able to curb weed growth and steer your way clear to producing delicious untainted organic vegetables.



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