WEEDLESS GARDENING

One of the most frustrating things about gardening is the appearance of weeds. If your flowers and plants are thriving, chances are the weeds are too. So what do you do to get rid of these pesky problems?

The first steep in getting a weed free garden is to get rid of any existing weeds by pulling them out by the roots. Do this as early in the season as possible. It is easier to pull up seedlings than to pull full grown weeds. Watering the ground first may make the process easier. Once the weed is pulled, dispose of it. Do not leave it laying on the ground to release seeds that will cause more weeds to grow. If the weed seems to have a long root, dig it with a spade or gardening knife. Weeds that are growing amidst plants may be loosened by inserting a screwdriver into the ground and loosening the soil around the weed and then just pull it out.

Once the weeds are removed from your garden, cover it with mulch. This will provide ground cover and discourage weeds from growing. A good mulch can be a combination of wood chips, garden compost or straw.

Another method to discourage weed growth is the newspaper method. Lay newspapers on your garden as a ground cover and then you can spread mulch or topsoil on top of it. The good thing about newspaper is that it is cheap and completely biodegradable. Newspaper is also easier to plant in. It rips easily, so it is easy to form small holes to place your flowers in. You can also buy landscape cover at any nursery or major department store. The landscape cover works well also, but it can be a bit of a pain to cut holes in which to plant your flowers. If you have a big area to cover, landscaping cover can become quite expensive.

There are also weed killers on the market that you can use to kill the weeds in your garden. Make sure that you read all instructions carefully and that the weed killer will not harm your existing plants or the neighbor's cat. There are different types of weed killer on the market. Some will kill only the top growth of the weeds and others are designed to kill the weed down to the root.

The best way to get ahead of your weed problem is to thoroughly weed your garden early in the season. Cover it with a few layers of mulch and then keep the weeds under control by weeding at least once a week. Face it, weeds are always going to be around, but you can show them who's the boss!