By Wayne McLaurin
Georgia Extension Service
Volume XXVII
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It makes no difference what we do, weeds seem to win. What
you really want
to do is prevent the weeds from going to seed. A favorite
saying of my father’s
was “one year of seed equals seven years of weed.”
A single dandelion plant is said to produce 15,000 seeds in
one year, and each
seed is capable of surviving for up to six years in the soil.
Each purslane
plant, too, can produce thousands of seeds that can survive
for many years.
So it’s in your best interest to stay ahead of the weeds.
Tried and true weapons
The best weapons for the home garden are the hoe and
rototiller.
Over the past years, hoes have been redesigned. There are
quite a few designs
for weeding tools now, including different handle lengths;
pointed, arrow-shaped blades; and scuffle hoes, which have a
twin-blade action.
However, I still prefer my lightweight, normal-headed hoe.
With the small head
I can get around plants with ease. For larger areas, shallow
cultivation with
a rototiller a few times during the season can do wonders.
Mulches work, too
Mulching around plants will go a long way toward reducing
weeds’ ability to take over, too. And organic mulches tend to
cool the soil and conserve soil
moisture while reducing weed germination.
Apply materials such as chipped or shredded bark, straw, hay,
grass clippings or pine needles 2 to 4 inches deep, and
replenish them as needed.
Plastic mulch tends to warm the soil. It’s best used on warm-
season vegetables such as tomatoes, melons, squash and peppers.
If soil gets too hot in midsummer,
you might want to put a shallow layer of organic mulch on top
of the plastic mulch.
Don’t just sit there and look! Use your hands. (Well, make
that your gloved
hands.) Young weeds are very easy to pull, especially after a
rain or irrigation.
Use chemical weed weapons with care
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has approved a
number of herbicides, but relatively few are available for home
gardens. Most are restricted to commercial
use, and you have to have a license to buy them.
Herbicides are very effective when used right by the label.
However, there is a risk of damaging the very plants you’re
trying to protect.
If you use a herbicide, read the label and follow
directions.
Also, if you choose to use a herbicide and use sprayers and
other equipment to apply it, make sure you label the equipment
for that use. And have a different
sprayer for other types of pesticides.
Some herbicides must be applied before the weeds emerge.
Others can be applied after the weeds have started growing. Some
are more likely to volatilize and
drift from their intended target. And others are intended to
kill any green plant and must be used only on the plants you
want to kill.
Some herbicide products come ready-to-use in a convenient,
trigger-spray bottle, while others have to be mixed with water.
Some specialized products, too, can
help minimize risk to desirable plants. Wick and wand
applicators, for instance, let you place the herbicide directly
on the intended plant.
There are fertilizer products out there, too, that contain
weed killers. These fertilizers are designed to be applied to
your lawn and kill any broadleaf plants
that come up.
I’ve had many calls when people have only grass coming up in
their garden. They’ve used the weed fertilizers, and almost
everything they planted in the
garden was a broadleaf plant. Please don’t use these in your
garden.
It’s easy to see where the home gardener can end up causing
unintended damage to other plants by using herbicides.
Maybe it’s good for the “ab” muscles we hear so much about to
just bend over and pull the weeds.
