Organic weed control

One of the most common questions we get from clients is how to get rid of weeds without using pesticides. If only there was a magic wand that allows you to sweep it over weeds and make them disappear. Too bad there’s not. But there are many ways to keep up with weeding so it doesn’t take the joy out of gardening.

1. Hand pull weeds when they’re young and don’t allow them to go to seed. Pull them in the winter and spring time and keep at them throughout the summer.

2. Where possible, mulch your landscape beds to keep weeds down. A thick layer of bark mulch, applied once a year, will work miracles.

3. Build good soil underneath lawns to help crowd out weeds. If you spend time properly establishing your lawn, the grass will grow thickly and help prevent seeds from germinating. Weeds, however, are inevitable, but you can prevent many of them in your lawn by properly watering your lawn, mowing it frequently (and high) and keeping it fertilized. Avoid weed and feed products that simply broadcast herbicides over the entire lawn. It’s overkill. Rather than directly targeting a specific weed, it “sprays” the entire lawn with the stuff. All of this washes into our drains and into the Puget Sound. If you hand-pull large weeds, be sure to fill in the gaps with a mixture of compost and grass seed. This prevents weeds from filling in the space.

4. Use cover crops (crimson clover is one of our favorites) to fill empty spaces during the winter where you’re not growing anything. Cover crops, also called green manure, build healthy soil.

5. Fertilize and water plants directly and avoid areas where you’re not growing plants.