How to Clear a Garden Full of Weeds

You’re standing on your lawn looking at the mess of a garden before you. There is no discernible plant life, just a mass of tangled weeds that are unidentifiable by nature. What happens now? If you have a garden full of weeds but are looking for a clean slate, what is your first move?

Before you pull out the flame thrower, take a step back and consider the best ways to clear out a garden full of weeds.

Start Over with Mulch

If you really want to do the bare minimum to defeat weeds and start all over, use mulch. This will mean the beds won’t be usable for some time, but eventually the mulch will breakdown and you’ll be left with new rich soil.

There are a variety of mulches available that you can buy at the garden store or through a private seller. Some people even get rid of mulch materials, like pine straw, for free. The mulch will create a barrier between the weeds and the sun, which will stop them from growing.

If your weeds are extreme, put down a layer of moist newspaper and cover that with at least two inches of mulch. This will destroy the weeds, prevent them from growing, and eventually leave you with a plantable garden.

Use a Cover Plant

You can also fight weeds with weeds. In this instance, you can choose a cover plant, such as clover, that will choke out the weeds and replace them with a thick cover material. This isn’t a good choice for everyone if what you’re looking for is a perfectly manicured lawn, but if you’re open to the idea of something more natural, it will do the trick.

Get Your Hands Dirty

Of course, in some cases, nothing will beat the experience of getting down on your hands and needs and pull the weeds out with brute force. Use gardening gloves to avoid exposure to allergens, bugs, or thorns. Invest in knee pads or a good sitting cushion so you can settle in and tear those weeds out.

This process can also be cathartic. You build up a sweat, but at the end you’ll have a perfectly cleared garden ready for the next phase of its existence.

Dig Down to Start Over

If pulling them out isn’t an option for you, you can also dig them out. This amounts to the same thing, after a fashion, but will leave you with a cleared bed that will need more top soil in the end.

This method is best if you have weeds that seem to regrow no matter what you do. That probably means you have some stubborn roots just out of reach. By digging them out and starting over completely, you can have more control over what’s planted in your flower bed.

Use a Power tool

Some homeowners aren’t as worried about the long term effects of weeds but prefer to make sure they are kept at bay with power tools.

But using a weed eater isn’t a one-and-done proposition. You’ll need to chop down your weeds once a week when you do your other mowing to make sure they don’t become unsightly. That said, this is one of the most popular choices for an easy weed elimination method.

Trim the Edges

Along with weed whacking, you can also use your lawn maintenance time to keep weeds away by being sure to mow near the edges of your gardens. Keeping weeds trimmed back will discourage them from infesting the areas you don’t want infested.

Plant Close Together

You can also opt to plant your flowers or vegetables closer together which will keep weeds from finding a spot to settle in. When you visit a botanical garden, you’ll often see blankets of flowers or plants which not only add to the visual appeal but also cut down the maintenance of that bed.

Use this method at home to add interest to your gardens and avoid too much work weeding throughout the season.

Just Give Up

The truth is, not all weeds are bad. In fact, some are quite pretty and others are even usable and edible. If your homeowner association allows for it, or your weed bed is in an unseen location of your yard, just let them grow and see what happens.

Edible weeds include:

·         Purslane

·         Plantain

·         Chickweed

·         Dandelion greens

·         Clover

·         Lamb’s quarter

Before you eat anything from your garden, make sure you can identify it as an edible plant.

You may also find that some of your weeds are actually wildflowers, which can add color interest to your yard if they’re kept contained in a wildflower garden. Cultivating weeds doesn’t have to be a bad thing.

Call in the Professionals

Of course, you may not want to or need to do any of this work yourself at all. Why not call in the professionals. There are companies in your area that provide services to clean up your yard at any level. Whether it’s just a little weeding or a major project in the spring or fall, you can rely on someone else to handle the problem for you.

The professionals at All Star Clean Up will keep you from having to do the dirty work yourself, literally. Avoid getting dirt under your finger nails. Don’t break your back. They can handle a major project in far less time, so it’s worth a look at the cost and benefits.

The cost of yard clean-up will depend entirely on the size of your yard and the severity of the weeds in question.

Make your yard look amazing. Contact the team at All Star Clean Up today to see how we can help clear those weeds and give you a clean yard to start over and make it beautiful.