How to fight unwanted plants

Every garden owner has favored certain weed control methods. How to deal with this plague in the smallest of spaces, for example in difficult joints of sidewalks or terraces that need to be kept clean We reported on this last month. Here are some tips, such as nettles, couch grass, Knotweed & Co. can be banned from the field a little easier.

Wait and let it grow !?

If it doesn't bother you too much and spoils the look of the garden, just try weeding a few days longer before weeding. Larger plants with a stump and stalk that are 5 to 10 cm high and can be removed from the bed are much more effective than small ones that protrude from the ground To pull leaves and shoots wildly with the hoe over the garden soil and the so finely chopped green, afterwards still laborious and time-consuming with the fingers to collect.

In fact, back-friendly weeding is possible

• the still rain-damp soil with a stable trident (under no circumstances these flexible metal claws from Use the digging table of the hardware store!) If possible, down to the weed roots, by the square meter loosen;
• Grab the plants tightly just above the ground and slowly pull out the roots completely;
• smaller plants can now also be collected more easily;
• then rake the earth through several times with the trident and collect the remaining plants that are visible afterwards;
• after the floor has dried, if necessary remove the plant remains that have already dried out;

The advantage of this method is that the beds remain weed-free for at least three times as long as with normal hoeing. The simplest is when you work on your knees, although you have also seen gardeners who have tied a milking stool around themselves for this.

A few more tips against the weed plague?

• The deep-growing tap roots of dandelions and thistles are best pricked as far below the surface of the soil as possible. You can make particularly good progress with an asparagus cutter from a specialist gardener.
• Under bushes, rose plants or fruit trees, an approx. 5 to 10 cm thick layer of mulch on the ground so that weeds cannot sprout freely; Wood chippings(€ 22.00 at Amazon *) with bark mulch with the addition of Horn shavings(€ 32.93 at Amazon *) for fertilization, would be an optimal mixture;
• Couch grass and groundgrass are among the most stubborn weeds that can only be permanently destroyed by digging up without residue; usually only one can help here Digging forkto re-cultivate the affected areas for subsequent planting;
• Planting out ground cover, which substantially curb the growth of weeds on these areas or even make it impossible;
• Bedding with mulch paper or opaque plastic sheeting; to insert the plants (e.g. Strawberries) the top layer is cut out in a cross shape at these points; Weeds can no longer penetrate to the surface; at the same time, the geothermal energy remains in the ground, which also promotes plant growth;

Regardless of which variant you choose - always bear in mind that weeds, as long as they are not seed-free and dried out, do not belong on the compost. Due to the low temperatures of around 40 ° C that develop in the compost heap (4), the seedlings and seeds of the weeds do not always die off completely. They even spread unhindered in the composter and months later maybe in the Cold frameif, in supposedly good faith, you mix the ripe compost into the ground as an organic natural fertilizer. That would not be harmful to our health, but it would be poison for plant growth. But let's stay a little longer on the subject of poison?