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Organic Weed Control for Your GardenOrganic weed control is as much a part of organic gardening as using organic compost. Like soil building, insect and weed control can be accomplished using organic gardening techniques. Chemical insecticides and herbicides are designed to quickly kill off particular insects and weeds. Chemicals dramatically reduce damaging insect populations and weeds for the short term, yet may cause long-term problems. Chemicals unavoidably kill natural predator insects and animals, and can cause an ultimate increase in the pest population. Repeated use of herbicides and pesticides also encourages resistant insects and weeds through natural selection. This usually requires increased chemical use or new, more powerful chemicals. Organic weed control may not show immediate results, but are better insect and weed fighters over the long haul. Organic weed control includes numerous ways to control troublesome weeds. Two methods of weed control that come to mind quickly are cultivating and pulling by hand or mulching. On large patches of weeds or grass, loosen the topsoil around the plants and rake through to separate. If you've only got a weed or two sprouting, and the topsoil is compliant, simply pull the weed up, roots and all. Separate any weeds from useable soil and discard them. If you've got the room, simply pile them out of the way and out of sight and let nature take care of them. If room is at a premium, put them in the trash or build up a pile and haul them to the landfill. If you are careful, you can even used them in your organic compost pile. Mulching is an effective and often attractive way to organic weed control. There are two types of mulch to use, sheet mulch or loose mulch. Sheet mulch works by denying light to plants yet letting water pass through. Sheet mulch is good for controlling perennial weeds that loose mulch won't. Sheet mulch is best for organic weed control in larger areas and landscaping projects. I covered two 15-20 square foot areas with sheet mulch and topped them with white decorative rocks and a border of landscape plants and flowers. This treatment makes for a distinctively landscaped front yard. Most garden supply and home improvement stores sell sheet mulch by the roll. Based on personal experience, I recommend shopping for mulch at the nurseries or suppliers who cater to professional landscapers. You'll be much happier with the results and end up pulling fewer weeds! You can also plant through most sheet mulches by simply cutting a small hole in it. Loose mulch is good organic weed control for smaller or irregular areas and is a little more flexible than sheet mulch. Loose mulch is usually made of wood by-products such as chips or bark and sold by the bag. Some mulch is ground so fine as to resemble compost or soil, yet will deny growth to weeds by eliminating light. You can make your own loose mulch for organic weed control from tree cuttings by investing in a medium duty yard chipper. I have hundreds of Juniper trees on my property and trim the bottom branches off to improve fire safety. I cut the larger diameter limbs up for firewood, and chip the smaller branches into mulch. Lawn grass clippings can also be an effective mulching material, although less attractive. Insect pest control is a chore that must be addressed whether you practice organic gardening or not. Of course, if you are practicing organic gardening, you should combat insects using organic methods. As farming, gardening, landscaping and organic agriculture are not the main focus of Modoc Country Living, I'll not go into great detail about organic insect control on this page. Controlling or eliminating damaging insects with organic methods is proven to work, although they don't produce immediate results. However slow acting they may be, the organic methods do control bad bugs over the long haul. Organic insect control, like organic weed control, involves the cumulative effect of many techniques. Included with these are companion planting, use of beneficial predatory insects and using insect traps. Here is a summary list of some organic insect control methods:
Companion planting, especially in a seasonal vegetable garden, is a painless organic weed control and pest control method. It is beneficial whether you practice organic gardening or not. I read a very good book on the subject (Carrots Love Tomatoes & Roses Love Garlic, by Louise Riotte), and I'm a believer! Companion gardening is pretty simple and it makes good common sense. Simply plant varieties beneficial to each other in close proximity in the garden. Companion planting works because one plant's root patterns, food and water requirements and natural ability to repel insects can compliment another. For instance, the smells of the carrot and leek plants that attract their respective most destructive insects are different. The smell of one plant repels the other's destructive insects so the bugs stay away from both. Based on my research from this book and other sources, I've put together a chart of companion plants that may help you: Vegetables and Fruits
Herbs and Spices
Flowers
Weed and insect pest control are mandatory parts of any gardening or farming operation. Organic weed control and organic methods for controlling damaging insects are simply common sense methods to accomplish these tasks. While insecticides and herbicides offer a quick fix for insects and weeds, they can also have long-term negative effects. Organic weed control methods will not have an immediate effect, but are cheaper and better for your garden. Organic insect control is time-consuming and also will not have quick results. But over time, organic methods are more effective insect and weed fighters, and will keep your flowers and vegetables natural!
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Pheromone traps are perhaps the best organic insect traps to use. (Don't feel bad - I had to look it up too! Pheromone is any chemical or set of chemicals produced by a living organism that transmits a message to other members of the same species.) Pheromone traps are simply baited with chemicals or the scents of insects you want to trap. You can either trap to simply kill or to study for more effective control. Insecticide soap sprays are also considered organic and work well. I simply mix a little liquid dish soap and water in a spray bottle to eliminate many types of damaging insects, including aphids.
