Weeds are the one crop that never fails. Turn your back on a border for a fortnight in May and there they are: dandelions in the lawn, bittercress in every pot, and something with a root like a carrot pushing up through the patio.
You don't need a cupboard full of chemicals to keep on top of them. Most of what works is free, some of it is a bit boring, and all of it is kinder to the bees, the birds and the dog. Here's what we do.
The short version
- Mulch 5 to 10cm deep over bare soil and you'll weed far less.
- Pull weeds young, on a damp day, before they set seed.
- Use boiling water on paths and gravel. Skip the vinegar, bleach and salt.
- Fill the gaps with plants, and smother new beds with cardboard.
Mulch, and you'll weed less next year
If you only do one thing, mulch. A 5 to 10cm layer of bark, garden compost or leaf mould over bare soil blocks the light that weed seeds need to germinate. It keeps moisture in too, and feeds the soil as it breaks down. Bare soil is an open invitation.
Weed first, water if the ground is dry, then mulch. Keep it a hand's width back from stems and trunks so they don't rot. Our soil improvers will do the job nicely.
Pull them young, and on a damp day
Hand weeding is nobody's favourite job, but it's the only method that takes the root out. Timing is everything. Get weeds out before they flower and set seed, because one dandelion left to go to a clock can mean hundreds next year. And go out after rain, when the soil is soft and the roots come up whole.
A hand fork does for most things. For dandelions and docks in the lawn, a long-handled weeder that grips the tap root will save your back.
Annual weeds like groundsel and bittercress can simply be hoed off on a dry, breezy day and left to shrivel. Perennials like dandelion, dock and bindweed regrow from any bit of root you leave behind, so dig those out properly. Autumn is a good time to tackle them, while the ground is soft and the borders have died back, and you'll really notice the difference in spring.
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Join the Garden ClubBoiling water for paths and driveways
For weeds in paving cracks, gravel and the driveway, boil the kettle. Pour the water slowly right onto the crown of the weed and it cooks the leaves and the top of the root. Young weeds usually give up after one go. Tougher perennials may need two or three.
Keep it well away from anything you want to keep, because it will cook those too. For the gaps between slabs, scrape them out with an old knife or a patio brush first, then follow up with boiling water.
What about vinegar?
This is the one everyone asks about. Household vinegar is only about 5% acid, so diluting it makes it next to useless. Even neat, it only scorches the leaves on a hot, sunny day. The root survives, so perennial weeds come straight back, and it burns whatever else it lands on.
Strictly speaking, homemade mixes like this aren't approved weedkillers in the UK either. We'd stick to boiling water and a hoe.
Please don't use bleach or salt
Both crop up a lot as homemade weedkillers, and both do more harm than good. They don't stay where you put them. Salt builds up in the soil and can stop anything growing there for a long time. Bleach washes into drains and ponds and damages the soil life your plants depend on.
Plant it so there's no room
Weeds love a gap. Fill your borders with plants and there's simply nowhere for them to get going. Ground cover plants like Alchemilla mollis and hardy geraniums are brilliant for this. They knit together at the front of a border and shade out seedlings before they get started.
Smother a new bed with cardboard
If you're making a new border from a weedy patch or an old bit of lawn, don't dig it. Cut everything down, cover the area with plain brown cardboard (with the tape and labels taken off), overlap the edges and give it a good soak. Then pile 10cm or so of compost on top.
Over a few months the weeds underneath die off without light, the worms pull the cardboard down into the soil, and you can plant straight into it.
Little and often
None of this is a one-off. Ten minutes with a hoe once a week does more than a whole wet Saturday every couple of months. Take your cuppa round the garden and pull anything you spot on the way, and the weeds never get a proper hold.
Happy gardening,
Lou
