Let's be honest all our gardens probably have weeds right about now. You probably were so diligent about keeping the weeds at bay all spring and now come July those bad boys are THRIVING. It happens to the best of us. Like most of our flowers they L.O.V.E the heat!
In the floral community you will be hard pressed to find a flower farm that tells you to use the harsh chemicals you see at your local hardware store. Cough Cough Roundup. If you follow me on Instagram, I just shared a Joe Rogan post about how a recent study showed a weedkiller ingredient tied to CANCER was found in 80% of US urine samples. EW YOU GUYS. Talk about scary. (I had so many questions about what we do on the farm to combat the weeds organically so that lead me to spending my afternoon writing it out for my peeps!)
So what do we do? For starts lets just make a deal right now that we stop fertilizing our lawns and using this deadly chemical in our gardens and on our lawns! If anything do it for the worms. ok not a worm fan (you should be if you grow anything at all) DO IT FOR THE DOLPHINS because that shit is for sure making its way into the oceans Flipper is just trying to do back flips in.
As the kids say these days im not here to gate keep - so below are what I use around the farm to keep the weeds at a minimum!
1. Weed Fabric - This stuff is the bees knees. At the farm we use this for our cut flower garden. We lay it in rows and then burn holes in it with our hand dandy template (see pic) so we can create strategically spaced holes in it for our flower starts. This is perfect for a cut garden or vegetable garden. This is HARD-Y. No light is going to penetrate this fabric therefore the weeds don't stand a chance!
2. Flame Thrower - This one might get you some looks from the neighbors andddd you are going to need to shower after using it but we live by this thing on the farm. An old method used by crop farmers - fire is a 100% organic way to say peace out to the pesky weeds. The science behind it is, in a nut shell, the heat damages the cells of the leaves, therefore they can no longer photosynthesize thus killing the plant. *so the goal here is not to torch the weeds completely just give them a quick pass so the leaves are wilted* It might take a couple passes but this method is our personal favorite for the areas we do not have fabric down. If you are not feeling the big guy they also make smaller versions. Either way be prepared to stock up on propane. *disclaimer* please be safe, don't be stupid, and wear closed toed shoes while using, Louloudi Fields LLC is not liable for any injuries.
3. Cardboard / newspaper - Yeah you heard that right. And if you just had a hay day on Amazon Prime Day you have lots of this laying around. I put cardboard in my gardens around the house. Now you are going to want to mulch over this cardboard but the extra layer is a great way to block sunlight / hence block weeds from being able to grow. This doesn't have to be fancy I literally rip up boxes and lay the cardboard on the boards or around existing plants, wet it down with some hose water and then plop on the mulch. *if you don't have cardboard newspaper works too just won't last as long!*
4. Vinegar - If the flame thrower is not quite your speed or the weeds are going in an area where its simply not safe or wise to use fire vinegar is my next go to. Spray the leaves of the weeds in the heat of the day and watch them wither. Different people will tell you there is different recipes to use - feel free to dive into this more but I just use straight white vinegar and it for realz helps!
5. Your hands - sorry sometimes you just have to pull those bad boys. If I have a bed that has gotten out of control I will wet the area down THOROUGHLY with water and then get to pulling. If we have recently received a heavy rain you can bet your bottom I will be out there either in the rain storm or that very next day pulling weeds. Those suckers come up so much easier when the ground is soft and pliable! In the heat of the July, August be smart about when you are outside doing the hardwork - wake up early before it gets to hot or wait until your bed is in shade. Simply pulling weeds when the sun isn't beaming down on your is going to be SO. MUCH. EASIER!
Alright that's all I have for you. There are for sure more methods out there but these are the most frequently used here at the farm! Just say no to the unnecessary chemicals!
Love, Light, and Flowers
Mon
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