Rose Garden Mania

Garden Riff Raff!! We all hate them. We all cus at them.  With pure evil in our hearts, we all go to extreme lengths to rid our precious gardens of them.  Let us take a serious look at how to organically control weeds in an organic garden.

Weeds are the bane of any gardener, but they can be especially bothersome to organic gardeners.  Many gardeners choose to use weed killer to get rid of weeds, but if you have made the decision to ‘go green’ then you can’t be doing that in an organic garden.  So what can you do?

Well, first you need to identify your most troublesome culprit (weed), and then you are going to have to show it your muscles and deal with it in the way that best gets rid of it.

Take a look with me at a few of the most common troublemakers, and let’s discuss what you need to do to rid your garden of them.

Image via Wikipedia

1.   Dandelion is one of the worst offenders.  This guy is the garden riff raff ‘gang leader’. Although some people choose to grow dandelions for their greens, most gardeners just want to get rid of them.

To get rid of dandelions, you need to dig out the entire taproot.  Always pull them up with a hoe before they flower.  You can spread corn gluten over the areas you wish to keep free from dandelions in the early spring.  This will help keep a lot of the seedlings from growing.

2. Crabgrass is a major pest in many yards and gardens.  It is a pretty tough customer and very tough to pull up, this guy is especially hard to get rid of.  You are going to have to pull up the entire plant, including all of its roots.  Be serious in declaring war against this maniac and suppress further growth by spreading down corn gluten in the early spring.  You should also mulch to prevent the seeds from germinating.

3.    Poison Ivy is just awful, is undefeated in, and consistently wins, the ‘Horrible Plant Award’.  It can cause terrible rashes even with very mild exposure.  Please always ensure that you wear gloves when handling this horror, and don’t ever let it touch any part of your skin.

Importantly show this guy you are serious and cut the plant at the base, then let it dry out completely.  Bury the vines, or throw them away in the trash.  Never, ever burn poison ivy, because the smoke can be fatal!  Oh…..and….Do not compost poison ivy.

3.   Lamb’s quarters – no this is not a cut of meat.  This is an edible wild green.  Some people grow these for food, but most people think of them as common weeds.  They can be difficult to get rid of.  You can hoe or pull up the plants when you see them.  Then you should mulch heavily to suppress the seedlings.

4.    Ragweed is a plant that many people fervently want to get rid of.  It’s a very common allergen, and its pollen is a major cause of hay fever.  Hoe up seedlings, and use a mower to mow down full-sized plants.  Use mulch to cover the areas where it grows.  Interestingly, you can compost ragweed if it hasn’t yet gone to seed.

5.   Purslane is an edible plant.  Simply remove individual plants by hoeing.  Now you need to know that if you pull the plants, they can re-root themselves if you then leave them lying on top of the soil.  The seeds of this plant are industrious little pests and can mature after the plant has been pulled, so don’t compost them.  You can mulch to prevent these from growing.

6.   Prickly lettuce is an annoying little begger.  It can cause itching and burning if it comes in contact with skin, so wear gloves when you handle it.  Pull or hoe plants, or cut the taproot below the soil.

You might wish to leave it alone, as it can attract beneficial insects, but it can carry lettuce diseases.  Be sure to keep it away
from your lettuce patches.

7.  Cocklebur is poisonous to livestock, so be sure to keep it away from your animals.  Hoe or pull plants beneath the soil line.  You can compost it if it hasn’t yet gone to seed.

Alrighty now fearless fellow organic gardeners of the world…declare full all out organic war against these Garden Riff Raff.  You have what you need to get started ….so, go on!…..

Put the fear of the irish into your garden enemies, march fearlessly into the garden yelling confidently….’Feed..Prune…Protect!!’

Related articles by Zemanta

• Insights Into Organic Gardening (hbb2obm.com)
• Organics: Fish Emulsion & Wildflowers (grandcruclasses.com)

• Cute Country Landscaping Ideas If you are designing a country garden landscape, you are probably already aware of the fact that there are an endless myriad of different things...
• Water Powered Deer Repellent For Plants With the state of the planet now, everyone is doing their part to keep it “greener." This means recycling, using less energy and doing their...
• Community Garden Provides Fresh Vegetables to Food Bank By Katharine Auslander - Meaford Independant A group of women on the Outreach Committee of Meaford United Church have created a garden within a 35...