‘Surprisingly effective’ method to banish garden weeds for ‘zero cost’

Gardening tips: Four homemade hacks to kill garden weeds

Weeds can grow anywhere there is space in the garden, and they’ll compete with other plants and flowers in the garden for nutrients, light and water. This means it is important to get rid of them as soon as possible if you don’t want them in the garden. An expert has shared top tips on getting rid of them, including the “cheapest” way to do so.

William Mitchell, Sutton Manor Nursery, said: “A brilliant and cheap way of getting rid of weeds is by using mulch. Mulch is a mixture of shredded leaves, brown cardboard, straw or wood chips.

“It is used to cover the soil around your plants to block weeds from any sunlight that will help them germinate and grow.”

Mulch can be purchased from garden centres but can easily be made at home too by collecting leaves throughout the year.

However, the “cheapest” way to get rid of them is to simply pull them or dig them up, which may or may not require tools, it depends on how deep the root is.

The expert said: “This will come at zero cost and is surprisingly effective. Normally the weed will not grow back once removed, however, if it does you know that you have a persistent root that needs a more drastic removal process.”

To remove them by hand, slide the tool under the weed and cut it off at the root.

Then, pull the weed out and discard it away from the area it was growing. If gardeners leave the weeds on or near the lawn, they could discharge their seeds, causing them to grow again.

It is best to hand weed after rain has softened the soil as this will help you to pull up all of the roots.

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The job will only take around five minutes a day, and it is recommended to remove them while they are small as they can take over the garden.

According to Rolawn, dandelions, buttercups and daisies are easy to remove, but clover is difficult to get rid of with a knife. To get rid of this weed, the experts recommended a herbicide.

However, it is best not to use chemicals in the garden if possible, especially if you have children, pets, or regular visitors into the garden.

William continued: “Another effective way of getting rid of weeds is by cutting off their heads before they have the ability to flower. 

“Removing the head means that they cannot produce seeds and therefore spread throughout your garden.”

However, this can be hard, especially if weeds are popping up everywhere in the garden, as well as on patios and driveways.

This means it is ideal to prevent them from growing in the first place, by aerating soil in the garden and the lawn.

The expert said this allows the areas to breathe and makes sure the potential of deep-rooted weeds is significantly reduced.

He added: “The last tip that I will give is to avoid watering them. Watering weeds is a very easy mistake to make as you are watering the other plants in your garden. 

“Watering weeds can be detrimental to your garden as they fight with the surrounding plants for the important water, sunlight and nutrients in the soil. If they are not welcomed in that area, do not water them.” 

This is also why it is important to identify where weeds are in the gardening to help avoid them becoming a bigger issue.

Common weeds found in the UK include dandelions, crabgrass, pigweed and purslane.

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