5 Spray-Free Ways to Control Weeds

Organic weed control methods come in four main types: heat, light, mechanical, and chemical.

Being unfamiliar with chemical organic control of weeds, I am going to stick to describing the first three methods.

You’ll find each method of control broken down by the type of tool and/or materials you need. Useful videos are included.

Water, or lack of water, can also affect weed success, but this knowledge is of limited use unless you’re planning a paddy field or know how to control the weather.

Get Out the Tools

If you’ve ever seen a rake or a hoe you know something about mechanical organic weed control. Open a gardening catalog, or visit your local hardware store, and you’ll see an amazing assortment of tools designed to damage and/or remove weeds.

1. Long Handled Weeding Tools

Long handled weeding tools are designed to damage weeds or to pull them from the ground without you needing to get down on your knees.

• Garden Fork – used to loosen up the soil and make it easier to remove weeds by hand or with a rake and/or hoe. Here Kenny Point from Veggie Gardening Tips explains about a garden fork.
• Hoe – designed to cut weeds off below the leaves or to disturb the soil and roots enough to kill young weeds. Hoes come in many styles. They are easy to use in loosened soil and almost impossible to push through compacted soil. Here’s a video which shows how easy a hoe can be to use.
• Garden Rake (different from a leaf or grass rake) – again these need to be used in loosened soil. They can be used to pull weeds into a pile after using a hoe, to level soil after forking or hoeing, or to remove weed seedlings from mulch and gravel areas.

In this video a master gardener explains the uses of different long-handled tools and the circumstances under which you’d use them.

Here’s a long-handled tool from Red Pig Tools which explains essential tools for every gardener.

2. Short Handled Weeding Tools

Short handled weeding tools are designed for using in confined spaces – around plants, in raised beds, and in paving stone cracks. There are short-handled garden tools which pulls weeds out and others which cut weeds.

Short-handled tools are also used up-close to pry out perennial or biennial weeds which have deeper roots, such thistles and dandelions.

• Fingers – a very useful gardening tool for removing young seedlings from around plants and for pulling up shallow-rooted annual weeds.
• Hand Fork – good for loosening soil to allow weeds to be pulled up by hand.
• Hand Trowel – a narrow-bladed hand trowel is an effective tool for digging out perennial weeds like dandelions.
• Sharp Tools – there are a number of useful sharp hand tools which range from Hori Hori Knives, through Cobrahead Weeders, to pruning snips and saws. The first two are designed to get in small spaces and cracks. Snips and saws are useful for woody weeds.

Here’s a video from DeWit tooks which demonstrates the use of a wide range of both long-handled and short-handled garden tools useful for weeding and planting.

3. Weed Control Using Heat

Heat methods of weed control are perhaps the least used. You’ve probably noticed that weeds spring up at specific times of year. This is in part due to temperature requirements for germination of specific weed seeds.

There are two ways to control weeds using heat:

• Weed Dragon, Weed Torch, or Flamer – uses fuel to create heat which when placed close to weeds causes cell sap to heat and damages the weed. There is a risk of fire when using a weed torch, or flamer. Most effective on weeds in the seedling stage. Find more information at Flame Weeding 101. Here’s a promotional video from the manufacturer of the Weed Dragon.
• Soil Solarization – uses sunlight to generate soil temperatures high enough to kill weeds. You can read all about soil solarization by taking this link, which downloads a pdf document from UC Davis. For a discussion of when to use solarization try Country Roads Magazine. Watch this video to see and hear how soil solarization works.

Block Light and Block Weeds

Some weeds require light in order for the seeds to germinate. Every plant needs light to grow. Basically you block light by covering the soil. By covering the soil you also prevent new seeds coming in contact with soil.

4. Mulching

Mulching is a popular way to reduce the need for weeding. It works well in perennial beds, between the plants, and can be used around annual bedding plants and in vegetable beds between rows. You should use at least 3-4″ depth. Different types of mulch are as follows:

• Sawdust – good for paths because it suppresses weed germination and growth. Do not use around plants.
• Bark, Shredded Wood, and Bark Nuggets – comes in different colors. This is a lightweight mulch and is not suitable for areas where water flows downhill during or after rain (it will just wash away). Cedar mulch takes the longest time to decompose. Best for flower beds.
• Straw – good for paths and fruit and vegetable beds but can cause weed problems. I’ve successfully used straw without weed problems, provided I had 4-6″ of it. Also, you want to know your source – straw could contain pesticides.
• Compost – great for fruit and vegetable beds and for lawns. As an organic gardener you can never have enough home-made compost!
• Rocks, pebbles, stones – work well for paths and rock gardens. You probably want to put down a porous weed barrier below to prevent your pebbles sinking into the ground.

Here’s a step by step video guide on mulching.

As fresh weed seeds fall on top of your mulch and your mulch decomposes (not the rock one of course) you will need to top up with more mulch and/or rake the surface. It’s easier to rake loose mulch though than to rake compacted soil.

5. Weed Barriers

Weed barriers are of two types – porous and non-porous. Porous weed barriers are of most use under mulch to prevent your mulch from sinking into the soil. Also known as landscaping fabric, I use them on paths, but not on beds. Check the warranty – you can get landscaping fabric with a 25 year, or a lifetime, warranty.

Black plastic can be used as a non-porous weed barrier. It is useful for temporary soil coverage. I’ve used it to cover the soil in garden areas which I know I will be working on later and which I don’t want to have to weed. You can use it to kill turf – allow a few months to do the job properly. Over time black plastic will break down enough to fall apart. While it’s not a great environmental choice, I’d rather use it than spraying with Roundup.

Here’s what happens to black plastic if you leave it down too long.

There are two further organic weed control methods which I plan to write about later – biological methods and the use of ground covers. Be sure to subscribe and get all of of my tips and inspiration (use the posts and e-mail links at the top of the page).

If you need more information on controlling weeds organically I suggest Organic Weed Control at The Organic Gardener.

Which methods of weed control are you using? Which have you tried? What do you like or dislike about controlling weeds?

You may be interested in some of the following from Amazon.com: Red Dragon Weed Wand; DeWit Garden Tools.

Related posts:

1. Five Lazy Ways to Compost – Part 5 – Mulched Raised Beds
2. How to mulch every area of your garden, and why
3. Cover Crops – a short guide