I recently ran across a great resource from the Elizabeth River Project on managing weeds without the use of chemical weed killers. My interest was immediately piqued. I have a young child who loves to play in our yard. This makes me want to never, ever, ever, (like EVER) put chemicals on our lawn and garden. Sure, I worry about the environment and how excess chemicals in stormwater runoff will impact local waterways and marine life. What good environmentalist wouldn’t worry about this? But, honestly, what really keeps me up at night is that children and pets are especially susceptible to the hazards of lawn chemicals because they are most likely to end up with these chemicals on their skin and inside their bodies. It’s not good.
So if you’re all about keeping lawn chemicals off your kids, pets and potentially your next seafood dinner, make sure to check out this fact sheet of natural weed prevention strategies.
Here’s some quick weed prevention tips from the list:
- Aerate Your Soil. Aerating will give your grass a fighting chance by ensuring proper circulation of air, water and nutrients to the root system.
- No Buzz Cuts. We recommend keeping grass at two or three inches tall to block sunlight from weeds and to promote a strong root system.
- Water Wisely. Grassy lawns only need one inch of water per week so use a rain gauge to monitor rainfall and only water when needed.
- Fix Your Soil. Weeds are often a result of poor soil conditions like acidity. Perform a soil test and, if needed, decrease soil acidity with lime to discourage weeds. (Fun fact: Are your hydrangeas blue? If so, you have acidic soil!)
- Explore Natural Options for Flowerbeds. Something as simple as vinegar or citric acid may kill the weeds in your flowerbed.