I know snow is still on the ground in our area and what a gorgeous sight to behold but soon our attention will be turning to our gardens. This year is going to present a new challenge for us in that we will be doing our gardening in two very different zones. Regardless of what zone you garden in, weeds are an issue. There are a couple of ways to go about dealing with weeds organically.
- edible weeds - Identify any edible weeds and use them. These can and should be used to supplement your growing season food supply. At the same time some edible weeds like pigweed can be used as complimentary plantings to protect other vegetables from insect damage so even if you don't eat them one or two cultivated weeds won't hurt your garden any.
- non-edible weeds - There are several organic methods available for controlling weeds. The most effective is manual removal aka the old pulling weeds. It's good exercise and somewhat satisfying. A blow torch is another effective method of killing off weed but caution should be used in dry to extremely dry conditions. A 5% - 10% solution of white vinegar sprayed onto weeds is also an effective, non-toxic herbicide. Mulches can greatly reduce weeds when used effectively.
Garden Gnome
©2006-2010
I used to read more about edible native plants. One thing I remember was the importance of taking it slow. Some of those wild plants were a lot stronger than the dried and garden stuff we are used to eating. Especially with anything herbal. People can get sick trying an herb fresh versus one bought at the store.
ReplyDeleteThanks Laura :) The two key things to using edible native plants is proper identification and collection from herbicide/contaminate free areas. Using fresh herbs should not be an issue for most people whether they are grown in the garden or harvested wild.
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