Weeding Your Garden: Keeping Your Ground Healthy!
Welcome back to part four of our series, Gardening 101! I’m sorry for the delay; I’ve been under the weather and trying to keep up with my day job simultaneously. Thank you so much for returning to our page and checking out the next part of this series! I should be back on my regular schedule now.
I’ve never believed weeds are bad (except for crabgrass) because they’re just plants trying to make it in the world. I define a weed as a plant growing in an undesirable location.
Although, I will admit that some weeds can do a lot of damage to your soil and garden health. For example, crabgrass can take over your ground and kill other plants nearby. This is because they pull a lot of nutrition from the dirt and water from the root systems.
When you’re trying to grow tomatoes, cucumbers, and other vegetables, they need a lot of nutrients, water, and other specific conditions. Weeds consume nutrients in the soil, which impacts your garden’s health. We’ll help you learn how to control weed growth and ensure your plants grow strong and healthy all season!
What Does Weeding a Garden Mean?
Weeding a garden means pulling out or removing undesirable or potentially harmful plants growing in your ground. While most people use their hands to remove weeds, this isn’t an effective way to remove weeds long-term or large-scale. Fortunately, there are weeding tools and other devices to help make the task much simpler.
Weeding a garden bed is often considered one of the least desirable gardening chores. It typically involves a three-step process, including:
- Identify the undesirable plant life
- Loosen the root system
- Remove the whole plant with the roots
Identifying weeds is usually one of the easier parts of gardening, although it can be difficult if you’re new to planting. Young seedlings are hardly distinguishable to the untrained eye from weeds, so how can you avoid digging up your plants?
There are several ways to mark out your seedlings effectively, but labeling their rows in the earth is the most effective way. Or, you can use planters or flower pots to help them sprout before moving them to the ground.
You should label the rows if you plan to plant your seeds directly into the ground. To do this, use either a popsicle stick or a piece of plastic, write the plant name on the stick, and jam it into the ground at the beginning of your crop row. Try to keep your rows as straight as possible to ensure proper watering and fertilizing. Straight lines will also prevent you from accidentally mowing your seedlings with a hand rake or pulling them up by hand.
I like to make mine with popsicle sticks since they’re recyclable, and you’d be throwing them away otherwise. If you grew up with many younger siblings who enjoyed ice pops, you’d have lots of popsicle sticks to throw away, and it’s better to use them than toss them!
How Often Should You Weed Your Garden?
You should try to weed your garden once every week to ensure the root systems don’t become established. Before planting your garden, you should till the soil to pull up the root systems of the cover grass. Remove clumps of grass, crabgrass, and other weeds from the dirt to ensure they don’t re-establish themselves.
Weeding your garden beds once a week helps prevent the weeds from taking over the ground, getting deep root systems, and becoming entangled in the plants. The longer you leave weeds in the ground, the more likely they will grow into your other plants.
When weeds get tangled in your garden plants, it becomes tough to pull them out without harming your crops. Removing the weeds can cause the root systems to get pulled up and disrupt plant growth. If you have to remove weeds around the roots of your crops, make sure you put the dirt back around the base and give the plant a good drink of water.
Is Pulling Weeds a Waste of Time?
Pulling weeds is not a waste of time, and the more regularly you do it, the less difficult it is to remove them from the dirt. Pulling weeds ensures the soil remains healthy and prevents your crops from becoming strangled with the weed’s root system. However, there are ways of preventing weed growth and killing weeds that are more efficient, including gardening tools and weed fabric.
Some people think pulling weeds is a waste of time because they always grow back in a few days. But weeding garden beds is critical since it keeps the dirt healthy and rich in nutrients for your crops and flowers. However, if you have extensive gardens or several gardens to maintain, pulling the weeds by hand might not be the most efficient way to keep weed growth down.
Although, I really hate using weed sprays, especially on vegetable plants. So, how can you keep the weeds down without working your hands raw?
My favorite method is weed fabric. However, you don’t need to use weed fabric if you can’t afford it or prefer recycling! I really like to use cardboard and newspaper to keep the weeds down. Or, you can use shredded paper and straw.
My mom always used to shred old junk mail in the paper shredder, and we’d lay the shredded paper down around the plant bases. Not only does it prevent weed growth, but it doubles as a compost!
Other Supplies for Weeding a Garden
Hand Rake
Hand rakes are one of my favorite weeding tools. They act to aerate the soil and pull the weeds by the roots so they don’t grow back. If the root systems are in the ground, the weeds can grow back and take over your garden bed. You can also use a full-sized garden hoe or rake, especially for large garden beds.
When we used to have extensive vegetable gardens, I used full-sized tools once a week between the rows. This helped prevent weed takeover and made the chore much quicker.
Hand Held Shovel
Hand shovels are a great way to dig up large weed clusters in the ground. If you have a particularly stubborn clump of crabgrass, consider using a garden hoe to dig up the weed by the root system.
Gloves for Pulling Weeds
Garden gloves are helpful in preventing damage to your hands and fingernails when you weed garden beds. They also get a better grip on the plant, making it easier to pull the weeds up, roots and all. I never actually liked using garden gloves because I liked my hands touching the dirt. But sometimes, especially when the weeds are stubborn or have thorns, you have to use a pair of thick garden gloves.
What Happens if You Don’t Weed Your Garden?
An unattended garden bed can result in strangled plants and nutritional deficiencies. Weeds can also pass on pathogens and infestations to your crops and flowers, causing them harm. Mildew, pests, and other harmful diseases can pass on to your crops and cause them to wilt and die.
How to Use a Garden Hoe for Weeding?
The best way to use a garden hoe for weeding is to use it after it rains. Weeds tend to grow after heavy rainfall, so it’s the best time to get in there before they take over the gardens. It also prevents the dusty dirt from kicking up after you hoe the ground and keeps the nutrients in the soil.
How to Put Black Weeding Cloth in the Garden?
Most people use black weed cloth in flower beds beneath mulch. Although you can lay it down under the dirt in vegetable gardens, this isn’t recommended since it can jam rototiller spokes. Preferably, measure you flower beds, buy and cut your fabric, and lay it down before putting down mulch.
Closing Thoughts-Why Weeding Matters!
Weeding your gardens keeps the soil rich in nutrients so your plants can grow big and strong. It also ensures the weeds don’t crowd your crops, stifling their growth and possibly killing them!
While a lot of people hate weeding, the truth is, it’s very therapeutic and healthy. I always felt that getting my hands in the dirt made me feel more connected to my gardens and the planet. It also improved my health and helped me lose weight. In fact, pulling weeds can kill up to 200 calories per hour. So if you want to improve your physical and mental health, start pulling those weeds and tilling the soil.
Thank you so much for reading this piece! I’m really happy to be back at it, and I’m excited to publish our next installment in this series: How Do I Know If My Plants Have Diseases?
