15 Best Weed Mat For Garden

Best Weed Mat For Garden in 2023

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Natural Weed Control - with Goats

Don't want to put poisons in your garden? Then consider some other ways to eliminate weeds. A few non-chemical alternatives are goats, weed cloth, corn gluten, and some clever weeding tools.

You can always use goats - that is, if you've got a really, really, really big area of weeds to clear. Seriously.

Although most of us don't have the kind of acreage that requires animals to clear it, grazing goats are just one of the many eco-friendly alternatives that are available if you don't want to use poisonous herbicides.

"It's a sustainable approach to weed control," said Jim Knoll, reclamation manager for Graniterock Construction, based in Watsonville, California. "I'd rather feed it to the goats than spray it."

Graniterock recently contracted with Star Creek Ranch of Aromas, California, for about 800 goats and sheep to clear an environmentally sensitive area where the company's quarry operation washes its rock.

A herd of 300 or 400 goats can clear about an acre a day, according to ranch owner Pete Pulis. And goats can go where tractors can't - on rocky and steep terrain - and they'll eat tough-to-get-rid-species like pampas grass and coyote brush.

"They're tenacious," he said.

Not only are goats an environmentally friendly choice for weed control, they also will change the vegetation in the area if they graze there once a year.

"They'll reduce the brush, and you'll end up with more grasses and fewer weeds," said Pulis.

However, Pulis notes, you probably need to have a spread of at least 20 acres to make renting a herd of goats worthwhile.

The cost varies with the difficulty of the job, and starts at a few hundred dollars per acre and on up.

So goats are not really an option for most gardeners, but happily there are a few other methods that can help those of us with smaller areas to manage. There are a number of other methods available that don't involve chemicals. Some are labor-intensive, but worth the effort.

The best way to get rid of weeds is to make sure they never emerge in the first place.

That's where weed cloth comes in handy. Available in large rolls at nurseries and hardware stores, it will block most weeds from sprouting or growing. The few that manage to come up through the cracks are easily pulled up.

Weed cloth or plastic weed barrier, both sold in rolls, are readily available at your local nursery or garden store. With either type, the idea is the same: It's a barrier that lies on the ground and smothers existing weeds, and also makes it difficult for others to germinate. You can use it either in a new garden or an existing one.

First, pull as many weeds as you can. Clean the ground of stones, sticks, and any other obstacles that will give your weed cloth a bumpy appearance.

Spread out the weed cloth and cut it to fit the garden area. If you have existing plants that you want to keep, cut holes around the base of each plant. Overlap the weed cloth by several inches when you want to cover larger areas. Cover the weed cloth with bark, pea gravel, small stones, or mulch.

Another way to discourage weed growth in your landscaping is by employing a pre-emergent herbicide. This is a natural weed prevention method that uses corn gluten meal, a natural byproduct of the cornstarch manufacturing process.

Corn gluten is safe to use anywhere, and will not harm people, pets, or existing plants. It simply suppresses new weeds from growing. It can be used in vegetable gardens up to the day of harvest.

It's best to use it in the early spring before the weeds really start sprouting, but it can also be applied at any time during the year. It can be spread on lawns and gardens, and as an added bonus, is a good source of nitrogen for established plants.

The only down side is that corn gluten could discourage growth of seeds that you want to grow. But used correctly, it's a very good way to prevent weeds from ever starting.

Among the brands available at nurseries and home centers are BioWeed, Concern Weed Prevention Plus, Corn Weed Blocker, Safe Earth Natural Weed Control, and others. A list is available at .

Other than that, old-fashioned hand weeding is always effective, if backbreaking. One tool that can be helpful for those who don't wish to kneel is the Hula-Hoe, generically known as a stirrup or action hoe.

This long-handled tool has a squarish metal loop that is great for severing weed roots just below the surface of the soil by working it in a back-and-forth motion, sort of like running a household vacuum. It's said to reduce strain on back muscles.

Another more exotic implement is the hori hori (literally, "dig-dig" in Japanese), which looks like a wide-bladed large knife. This multi-purpose tool beats traditional garden trowels because of the sharp serrated edge it has on one side.

Not only can you dig with a hori hori, you can also cut through tough roots if need be, as well as open bags of fertilizer, cultivate, and a multitude of other garden tasks.

Both tools can be found online; it's easier to find stirrup hoes in stores than the more esoteric hori hori.

Sources:

Personal interviews with Pete Pulis and Jim Knoll, August 2020

Personal experience