When it comes to gardening nearly every grower, amateur or experienced, will tell you the most aggravating part of the process is the constant weeding. Even my kids have caught on to this annoying little facet of life. Whenever I cheerfully call out, “Anyone want to come with me and check on the garden?” the reply is a grumbly, “Will there be any weeding involved?”

It’s just one of those natural wonders of the world. No matter how bad you may be at growing gorgeous flowers or nurturing nutritious vegetables, you will always be an instant success at cultivating constant weeds.

There are lots of great and natural ways to prevent, discourage and eliminate weeds from your garden that don’t involve harsh chemicals. It may be a little bit more in the effort department, but you’ll never have to worry about the contents of your garden food or the ramifications of poisoning the earth.

Landscapers’ Fabric

When starting a new garden put down a layer of Landscapers’ Fabric. It’s a great way to discourage weeds from growing up into your desirable plants.

Newspaper

A thick layer of newspaper (at least 5 sheets thick) over your garden during the off-season, will keep the sunlight from getting to the weeds, which will cause them to die. It also just so happens to be a great nutrient for the soil and will quickly decompose, allowing you to till it into the garden in time for new spring plantings. During growing season, you can layer newspaper in your garden, being sure to surround your veggie or flowering plants but not cover them, soak them with a garden hose and top with a layer of mulch.

Vinegar

You can kill weeds by spraying them with vinegar, but be careful not to spray your flower and vegetable plants, too. This is an effective method for very small, weak weeds or for just killing the plant – it will not however kill the roots.

Boiling Water

To kill weeds from plant to root, pour boiling water over them, but be sure not to pour any on your garden plants – it will kill them, too. If you have stubborn weeds that aren’t discouraged by the boiling water mix 4 cups of vinegar with 1 cup of salt and half a teaspoon of liquid soap and spray that on the offenders.

Hori Hori Knife

If digging them up by the roots and declaring yourself triumphant over the kingdom of weeds is more what you have in mind, consider getting yourself a Hori Hori knife – this is a great Japanese gardening tool that will make pulling weeds, root and all, a much easier task.

Armed with the proper tools, you’ll soon be able to make visit to the garden that don’t involve the eye-rolling grumbles of your tween helpers or teaching them a new vocabulary when yet another round of weeds pops up

Photo Credit: Microsoft ClipArt Online