have a plant garden, but the weeds grow faster than plants. what is the best weed killer and safest?

Question

home made concoctions! don't have a lot of money for weed killers in store. thanks.

Answer 1

MULCH! In the walking areas, you can put down carpet, which will block the sunlight and keep the weeds from growing. You can put grass clippings pretty close to the plants, or use black-only newspaper -- weigh it down with rocks to keep it from blowing all over the neighborhood.

Actually, I use both -- newspaper (three or four layers) and then grass clippings on top, because it looks nicer. You'll have to hand-weed close to the plants.

And don't be afraid to use a hoe! It's not that hard, as long as you keep it sharpened. It's a lot like sweeping. And it will give you lovely, toned arms, and a little bit of exercise (so you'll save money on the gym!).

There are so many problems with weed killers -- many kill the plants you love, and even if you kill the weeds today, the little seeds will still germinate, and you'll have weeds again next week. And spraying really isn't much easier work than hoeing.

Once your plants get big, though, they'll fight the weeds for you -- it'll get easier later in the summer! Good luck!

Answer 2

Get yourself a shuffle hoe and hoe early and often. If the weeds have gotten big hand pulling is about the only way to get them out of your garden. Make sure the soil is moist but not muddy-either a day after a good rain. If it is dry bring out the sprinkler and give the garden a good deep watering for a couple of hours and than start pulling the weeds. Make sure you get the roots or the weeds will come back.

You can use vinegar (do not mix with any water) but you have to be careful not to let any get on your plants and like most herbicides it works best when the weeds are tiny and is not very effective with big weeds.

Answer 3

Honestly, the best and safest is your hands and a hoe. I can't think of anything you can use on weeds that wont kill your plants. I know it can be overwhelming, but try to look at weeding as an opportunity to meditate. I just zone out while I'm at it. I have about 8 garden beds and in order to keep it from seeming so overwhelming I weed a bed a day. Good luck

Answer 4

don't spray weed killer or you'll kill your good plants too. You could try to hoe the weeds, and keep the soil surface loose. This will slow down weed seeds germination. Or you can put WET strips of newspaper in between your plants. be sure to weigh down the newspaper with mulch or some rocks.

Answer 5

The newspapers and mulch between plants is my favorite in areas where walking won't disturb and expose the papers. It is a safe practice. I've heard of Auburn U doing research on the subject. Farmers have been doing it for years.
By the way, weeds are plants too. lol

Answer 6

The key to weed control is stopping the spread of seeds. Each weed can make up to 1000's of seeds.
To do that you have to pull the weeds out before they germinate, when they are young.
Eventually you will have less and less weeds.

Answer 7

If you have the money and it suits your garden area...the black week control cloth works pretty good. This comes in a roll at any garden store. \
It lets the rain and water in, but keeps out the sunlight and prevents stray weed seeds from sprouting and growing.

Answer 8

These are all great answers and all will be successful for you. Rest assured you are not the first person to deal with this! It just takes constant vigilance and you will be rewarded with a healthy garden and a real sense of accomplishment.

Answer 9

PREEN is the best I have ever used.
When planting, it is also a fertilizer.

It is not a home made remedy..for that I would use a bleach combo...but the likelyhood of killing the plants you want is greater

Answer 10

Hard work in the garden. that is the easiest way. every one wants some magic concotion, but you need to just pull them by hand (dont want to accidently kill all your plants with a bad formula)