Angle Weeder
An angle weeder is a great tool which can be used for many different weeding purposes. If you are on a limited budget and can only afford one type of weeder, the angle weeder is a great choice. With this one tool, you can:
• Pull, grab, and snag weeds
• Cut roots
• Weed in tight places like rockery or sidewalk cracks
The angle weeder will make maintaining your garden much easier. However, weeding is still a tough job even with a good tool. Here are some tips to make weeding easier and keep weeds from coming back.
Damp Soil
Dry soil is very compact and makes pulling weeds very difficult.For that reason, weeding is always easier right after it has rained. You can also moisten the earth yourself before weeding to make it easier. However, keep in mind that water can corrode your angle weeder. Rust is not only bad for your garden tools, but it can also transfer diseases to plants. Prevent rust by always cleaning and drying off your angle weeder after using.
Shallow Plowing and Tilling
Most types of weed seeds will only germinate in the top couple of inches of soil. If the seeds are buried deep into the ground, then they shouldn’t be a problem. Deep plowing or tilling will cause these seeds to come to the soil surface again. Avoid this by not digging too deep into the soil.
Get them while They’re Young
It is much easier to get out weeds while they are younger because they haven’t grown deep roots yet. Another reason to pull up young weeds is because they won’t have a chance to go to seed and cause another generation of weeds to grow.
Go for the Roots
To keep weeds from coming back, use an angle weeder to get out the entire weed including its roots. For dandelion roots, put pressure on one side of the stem with a weeding tool and then pull straight up. For weeds that have shallow but wide root systems, scrape away some of the soil top to drag away the entire root system.
Mulching
Be careful of where you get your mulch from because there may be weed spores in it.
If you notice a new strain of weed popping up after putting down mulch, this is probably the case. Instead of using mulch between plants to help prevent weeds, you can also try using other substances too. Straw between plants is a great way to prevent weeds from appearing.
Weeds in Cracks
If your angle weeder can’t get to the deep roots of weeds in cracks, you can pour boiling water over the weed to kill it. Then use the angle weeder to cut away as much of the weed as you can.
Don’t Stress about Weeds
If you spend too much time with your angle weeder attacking those unwanted plants in your garden, you won’t have time to focus on making your garden prosper. Accept that you will have some weeds and set realistic goals for keeping them to a minimum.
