Weed Control

The definition of a weed is, a plant out of place.  With that definition in mind we can see that any plant has the potential to be a weed.  In fact a lot of the plants in our garden started their lives as weeds and were transplanted to their current locations.  Right now we have a pagoda dogwood, Cornus alternifolia, in our front yard that is about 3 feet tall.  It is a "weed".  It sprouted by seed that was carried by an animal to the front yard and we have not pulled it out.  Soon I will transplant it to a new location and it will no longer be a weed. 
What about the weeds that are not desirable plants?  How do we handle them?  That is what this article is going to cover.  There are many methods to get rid of weeds in the garden.  They can be pulled by hand, cultivated out with a hand cultivator or a rototiller, killed with an herbicide like round up or smothered with newspapers and mulch.  Another method of weed control is to apply a pre-emergent herbicide like Preen which contains treflan to stop the seeds from germinating. 
We will explore these methods in greater detail.  Pulling weeds can at times be relaxing.  To sit down on the ground especially in the shade and pull weeds and feel their roots pulling free from the soil can have a calming effect on the soul especially if you are a gardener.  The problem with pulling is that you may not get the roots in which case they are just going to spring up again in a few days.  The best time to pull weeds is after a rain shower or after you have watered.  The ground is soft and pliable which makes the weeds easier to get out with the roots intact. Cultivating, whether you do it with a hand cultivator or if its a larger area use a rototiller,  is an effective way to get rid of weeds.  Another advantage to it is that it helps to aerate the soil.  Be careful not to over till soil and break down the soil structure.  If your soil is wet it is not a good time to cultivate. Spraying with an herbicide like round up can be a real time saver.  The disadvantage is accidentally spraying plants that you don't want to kill.  Round up will kill anything green so be sure to use it on a very calm day so that there is little to no drift that will kill surrounding plants that you want to keep.  Another thing to remember when using a systemic herbicide, is that it will take some time to kill the plant especially if the plant is not actively growing at the time of application.  You will also want to wait 2 weeks before planting anything new in that location.  The last option I have noted is the use of newspapers and mulch.  I have known several people who have used this method with good results.  If you have an area of your garden where you have lots of weeds and you want to eventually have mulch there, you can apply a heavy layer of newspapers 5-6 sheets thick and then a layer of mulch 3 inches thick.  The newspapers will smother the weeds and then decompose.  The paper and the mulch will also cut out any light that will germinate future seeds.  Disadvantage? Maybe collecting enough newspapers. 
My final word on weed control is this.  Once an area is cleaned out and you are done disturbing the soil, apply a layer of pre-emergent weed control like Preen or Magic Gardener and then 3" of mulch.  The pre-emergent will kill any germinating seeds and the mulch will help maintain soil moisture and reduce the amount of light that will get to the soil and germinate seeds.  The 2 in combination will reduce your future weeding by at least 75-80%.  If you re-apply the preen every spring and fall over the top of the mulch, you will have very little weeding to do.  Happy Gardening.