How to Stop Weeds From Growing in Flower Beds
Weeds in flower gardens are a normal part of gardening, but if left, they can quickly take over your flower garden. Weeds can steal precious nutrients and moisture from the soil that your flowers need to grow. They can shade sun-loving flowers, causing the plants to be stunted and weak. You could use an herbicide, but that will kill everything in your flower garden. If you are going to stop weeds from growing, you have to be diligent in preventing them from starting in the first place. Does this Spark an idea?
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Things You'll Need
- Newspaper or cardboard
- Water
- Mulch
- Black plastic or landscape fabric
- Crushed rocks, gravel or mulch
- Corn gluten meal
Instructions
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1
Pull the weeds out by hand. They generally pull much easier out of the ground when they are small and the ground is moist. Keep them pulled so they do not go to seed.
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2
Lay newspaper or cardboard down between your plants. Remember to overlap the edges by 4 or 5 inches. Spray water onto the newspaper or cardboard to wet them down and then cover them with mulch. The newspaper or cardboard will break down into the soil, so you will have to put more down next growing season.
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Add 3 to 4 inches of mulch over the ground. Some of the things you can use are leaves, grass clippings or wood chips. This will keep the light from penetrating the ground and germinating the weed seeds.
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4
Pull or mow the weeds short that are growing in the flower garden and then cover the area with black polyethylene or landscape fabric if you don’t have any flowers planted. If you do have flowers planted, you will need to dig them up before you put down the black plastic. After you have the plastic measured and laid, cut an X in the plastic and dig a hole into the soil to plant your flowers. You can leave the black plastic showing or cover it with crushed rocks, gravel or mulch.
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5
Control weeds that grow around your flowerbeds. Most often, the wind, animals or birds carry the seeds to parts of your yard when they will germinate. By keeping them cut down you will help eliminate the problem. By pulling the weeds out or cutting them before the seeds form, you will help eliminate the problem.
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6
Cut weeds that grow around your flowerbeds. Most often, the wind, animals or birds carry the seeds to parts of your yard when they will germinate. By pulling the weeds out or cutting them before the seeds form, you will help eliminate the problem.
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7
Apply corn gluten meal in the spring and fall to control annual weeds. Corn gluten meal is an organic pre-emergent herbicide. Each season that you use it, the amount will be lower. For the first several years that you apply corn gluten meal, use 20 pounds per 1,000 square feet of area. Make sure the label has it listed as a pre-emergent herbicide. If it does not, then it doesn’t contain enough protein to work. Most people prefer the pellet form instead of the powder form. Powder has a tendency to cake when it is watered and the wind can blow it away.
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