I once had an artist (of the martial type) explain the basis of Judo to me. In Judo it appears, the central premise, the martial arts secret so to speak - is the idea of using your opponent’s natural force to strike a blow. Ah, so…I am thinking. Can I use the force of nature against itself? After snatching the pebble from his hand, I thought I might apply some thinking to my arch enemy, the lowly garden weed. Yes, you say, a weed is just a misunderstood flower. That may be true, oh seeking one…and surely there are paeonies in China being sprayed with Roundup as we speak. But this is not my fight
For those that come to your mountaintop seeking weed control advice, how do you respond? As one that speaks to scores of homeowners each year about fertilizer, herbicide and pest controls, I try my best to articulate best practices regarding weed control, despite the unnecessary battle that green industry trade magazines wage against those that choose to minimize chemical sprays. Many of the green industry magazine pundits would have us remain inscrutable, sufficing to impart our knowledge in the arcane language of Latin with some pharmaceutically herbicidal complexity thrown in. (“Yes, grasshopper, you need a mix of epimidium and “kill it all3” for this weed. You have a long road to travel to wear the green belt”). It’s sad, but true.
The landscape industry is too often a willing minion to the larger chemical interests that advertise in the trade magazines and sponsor green industry events. In this regard, there are a few things your landscape care company might not want you to know. Truth is, weed control can be relatively simple and even if you buy a full end cap of big box store poison, there is no immediate panacea for a weed problem. There are however a range of really effective pest & weed killing secrets that are natural, cheap, easy and quite effective. I know it’s not a popular notion in the landscape care trade to recommend that you not hire a professional to weed a property, but with a little due diligence, you can control weeds for very little cost and in an environmentally friendly way.
To keep it simple, you might want to think of weed control in three parts:
1. What is my weed telling me?
2. When do I deal with it?
3. How am I applying “the force”?
Lastly, why am I talking like Alec Guinness? But stay with me…and you may become a judo jedi of the jardin. First, What is my weed telling me? Your weed can inform you about a soil condition. Lets look at some of the most common garden enemies:
Bull Thistle/Cirsisium vulgare. And Curly dock/Rumex crispus both Indicate rich, moist soils. Beyond hand removal, can be controlled by adjacent “wet feet” planting to further dry the soil areas and installation of proper drainage.
Chickweed./Stellaria media and Dollarweed. Hydrocotyle bonariensis like moist, shady areas. Reduced watering, drainage as above and increased sun with overhead pruning.
White clover /Trifolium repens marks areas with low nitrogen and soil compaction. In lawn areas, this can be alleviated with liming, aeration re-seeding of the appropriate lawn mix and fertilization.
When do I go to battle with my weeds? You must be ever vigilant, my acolyte. The simplest way to think of this is to consider the weeds life cycle from seed to germination, then flower and onset of seed again often in fall. Early spring is often the best time to form your first offensive move, hand weeding select weeds before flower and seed and planting a spreading groundcover. Fall is I think the best season to offer a last crushing blow; clearing your weeds with a ninja-star tool such as a hula-hoe will clear the ground as the last of the weeds energy is lost.
Finally, how am I to apply “the force”? This, my friend is where you must climb down from the mountain cave and face your demons. You simply cannot spray your way to landscape nirvana. You must bow to the force and clean the soil of weeds as much as possible, nurture a suitable groundcover or shrub planting that will naturalize well. You can also blanket the soil with a nitrogen-robbing top dressing such as garden bark and diligently follow up with your favorite weed picking tool. Overwhelmed by the dark forces? If you must resort to a black-arts weapon, use “Burnout” clove oil & vinegar based herbicide…or simply pour on a dribble of boiling water from your pot of green tea.
