Organic Gardening Weed Control

Organic gardening is all about using natural methods and materials in order to cultivate plants. From the use of organic matter for compost to improve soil conditions as well as using beneficial insects for pest control, organic gardening tries to avoid the use of man-made chemicals and substances that can bring harm not only to the natural environment but also to the health of humans as well. Years and years of practicing conventional farming has led to the gradual destruction of the environment due to pollution.

Even when it comes to weed control, organic gardening tries to make use of natural means in order to keep away weeds that may harm the plants in the organic garden. The basic weed control used by organic gardeners is the basic “muscle power”. But for organic gardens, the best way to control weeds is by simple prevention. In the battle against weeds, not letting them take root in the first place in the organic garden would be more effective than when trying to remove them once they sprout from the garden.

Weed prevention in gardens can be done by providing desirable plants from the best possible conditions to grow in. There are many factors that can contribute to the development of weeds in a garden. Improper watering, pest damage as well as plant diseases may help bring about the growth of weeds along with the desirable plants. Being able to prevent these factors would help a lot in putting an organic garden from being infested with weeds.

But in some cases, weeds do find themselves growing in your garden. That is because they can also be spread from one area to another the same way as other desirable plants. There are weeds seeds that exist in almost all types of garden soil. The seeds can also be spread to other areas by the wind, water as well as by animals and insects. Even other organic matter that gardeners use to enhance their soil may contain seeds of some weeds that may gradually take root and foster its own growth.

With muscle power, weeds can be controlled the natural way without the need of using herbicides and other chemicals which can do harm not only to other plants but also to the environment in general. Simply taking out weeds by pulling them by hand would help control their spread. Weeds can also be turned over in the soil to prevent their spread by using a weeding hoe or any other similar gardening tool. That is the basic and most natural means of weed control for the organic gardener.

In organic gardening, there are also other harmless ways of weed control that can be used. Using barriers to cover the soil bed around plants may help prevent weed growth. Putting plastic covers all around a plant would help deter weed from also growing around it. For the more organically conscious gardener, an alternative would be ordinary newspaper which would also be as effective in providing suitable cover for the soil bed to prevent weeds from developing.