Garden and Flower Bed Weed Prevention

Weeding is The Worst

Weeding is the thing most despised in a garden. It is also the biggest reason people stop gardening. For new gardens especially. Here are some tips and to help manage weeds in your garden bed.

Weed often

Seems simple right? Gardening should be a daily activity. If you spend 15 to 20 minutes in your garden every day you can keep weeds from getting out of control. Weeding daily is easier because the weeds will be very small and easy to pull, cut, scrape, cover whatever you want to do to them really. Invest in a nice garden Hoe or winged weeder. They will save you tons of time and your back will thank you.

Mulching

Deep mulching is a great way to choke out weeds in your beds. Keep it deep, like two inches or more. You can use lots of things for this, hay, grass clippings, cardboard, sheetrock, compost. I prefer hay or grass clippings. They make a nice place to walk and keep the mud off your feet. Get your mulch down early to smother out the earliest weeds. Keep an eye on these though Weeds, they are very good at finding even the smallest crack to grow out of.

Pre-emergent

There are different types of pre-emergents you can use in the Garden. Chemical pre-emergents would be something like Preen. These won’t hurt your established plants but they would prevent seeds from growing properly if your application timing is off. Personally, I wouldn’t use these in my garden. I feel they are an unnecessary use of chemicals. Corn gluten meal is an organic pre-emergent that can be very effective. It is fairly expensive to get good control and I have been told it doesn’t have the best odors.

Be Diligent

In my opinion, Mulching and a regular wedding are your best bet. Gardens are meant to be worked. Your appreciation and satisfaction come from the hard work you put into it. Just remember a little bit every day goes a long way to keep your garden weed-free. Don’t let it get ahead of you and it will never be a chore. It will just be your garden.