The common garden weed can be a real thorn in the side of any gardener – these pesky plants not only sprout up almost anywhere in your garden, but are notoriously difficult to remove once they do. In this blog we will discuss the different methods you can use to effectively remove perennial weeds from your garden for good!

Why are weeds bad?

The first thing that comes to mind when most people see a garden overrun with weeds is that your garden is unloved, unkempt & unmaintained. The term ‘weed’ refers to any invasive plant that may inhabit gardens – the most common are dandelions and buttercups.

Aside from the obvious aesthetic reason that you would want to remove weeds from your garden, they can also harm other plant life in your garden that you want to grow by competing for natural resources.

How to remove weeds from your lawn:

By Hand:
By far the most simple and straightforward method is to just grab the weed by the base of the stem and with a trowel dig up the roots and remove it by hand. It is crucial to remove all of the root along with the stem otherwise the root will continue just to grow back. It can be easy to miss some of the root when removing weeds by hand so take your time and double check everything has been pulled out.

Once completed, you may have a small crater in your lawn that can be reseeded or patched up with more turf.

Chemical Weed Killer:
For larger gardens afflicted with weeds, it can be easy to reach for the chemical weed killer that has been lurking in the shed. Depending on the type of weed killer you have, they can either be selective and target only broad leafed plants, protecting your lawn. Or a stronger chemical that will kill just about anything it comes into contact with. Take extra care when using this type, such as Roundup, to not accidentally spray it on to anything you are hoping to grow in your garden.

Organic Weed Killers:
If you are more averse of using chemical weed killers, have no fear! There are plenty of organic methods that can work just as well. Some of our favourite organic weed killing solutions include:

• Salt:
  It’s well known that salting the earth can have devastating effects on plants, however when mixed with water, you can create an all-natural weed killer. Best to take caution with this approach and apply gradually over time as applying too much salt can have devastating effects on your soil.
• Boiling water:
  Applying boiling water to perennial weeds not only kills them but can also destroy any seeds planted amongst your soil, so take caution when using this method. Simply boil a kettle and slowly apply to the base of the stem, ensuring not to burn yourself or splash any plants you do not want to destroy.