Weed Control

The Fiskars UpRoot Weeder: An Organic Way of Getting Dandelions Out of Your Lawn and Garden

February 23, 2011 28 comments
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When I heard about this tool, I knew I had to have one. As an organic gardener, I find it extremely hard to keep dandelions out of the lawn. The herbicides that can be used in lawns are so nasty that I can’t bring myself to use them. But the constant up and down, bending [...]

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Why I Hate Landscape Fabric: An Unfair and Unbalanced Look at Weed Cloth

October 14, 2010 58 comments
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The other day I wrote up a post about how to use landscape fabric without screwing it up. Previously I’d written about when using landscape fabric is a good idea and when it’s not. Sometimes I try to be fair and balanced on an issue so I don’t sound like some kind of gardening zealot. [...]

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Professional Tips for Using Landscape Fabric Right

October 9, 2010 7 comments
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I’m no fan of landscape fabric, but I accept that it can be a useful tool in the garden in a few select circumstances. I go into how to decide whether landscape fabric is a good choice for you in this article, but if you’ve decided to use it, I wanted to provide you with [...]

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Cobrahead Weeding Tool: A Steel Claw for Veggie Gardening and Weeding Cracks

May 24, 2010 1 comment
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I’m constantly on the lookout for new and different ways of doing things in gardening. For one, it keeps things interesting, but also, if you garden as much as I do, having a few different ways of doing the same task can really help cut down on the risk of injury or repetitive strain on [...]

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Vinegar Weed Control that Actually Works

March 4, 2010 14 comments
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When I was in horticulture school, the old-skool dudes teaching pest control were all about the chemicals – they just didn’t believe organics could be as effective as the lethal stuff. Yet every so often, a hint of doubt would creep into their voices about safety. I’d hear, “well, this one’s actually pretty bad” or  [...]

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How to Kill Dandelions in Lawn Organically

February 11, 2010 13 comments
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I just got a nifty tip on how to kill dandelions organically when they are growing in your lawn or in the center of another plant: injection with vinegar-based organic weed killer. You may have found that if you spray non-selective herbicide, organic or otherwise, on your dandelion that you end up with a dead [...]

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Gardening Basics: How to Apply Mulch

June 16, 2009 11 comments
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We’ve talked about why a thick layer of mulch, composty soil, and good watering habits are important if you want to garden more organically; it’s all about giving your plants a foundation of good health so that pest problems will be few and far between. Today we’ll talk specifically about mulch: what it is, what [...]

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Is Landscape Fabric/ Weed Barrier Right for You?

June 9, 2009 10 comments
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One of the biggest barriers to organic gardening success, and I mean that literally, is landscape fabric. Any kind of fabric or plastic that keeps weeds down will also keep fallen leaves or mulch from adding organic matter to your soil, leaving behind a hardened, dead zone where plants struggle to survive. Now, that’s not [...]

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How to Weed Without Strain: Effortless Gardening with Feldenkrais Practitioner Cathy Butler (Video)

May 6, 2009 3 comments
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I don’t know about you, but when I garden for hours at a time (which for me is every day), even though I enjoy myself, I do feel sore and tired. Even a gentle and soothing task like weeding often leaves me stooped and tuckered at the end of the day.

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Organic Weed Control – How to Kill Weeds Without Harmful Chemicals

March 28, 2009 42 comments
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As a garden coach, I’m often asked if there are any organic ways of getting rid of weeds that actually work. Nobody wants to spray harmful chemicals in their garden. The good news is that there are a lot of organic alternatives. The bad news is, some organic techniques can require an up-front time investment, [...]

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