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ndtaya
Lv 6
ndtaya asked in Home & GardenGarden & Landscape · 1 decade ago

Are there any environmentally safe week killers?

My weeds are out of control, but I don't want to use anything too toxic.

6 Answers

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  • 1 decade ago
    Favorite Answer

    Forget it. Just live with them. You could mulch enough that the mulch covers the weeds & kills them for lack of light, adding nutrients to the soil at the same time, or you could mulch enough that the ground becomes soft, i.e. soft enough to dig with a little hand trowel, so you can easily lift out the weeds with the trowel (my approach). In the latter case, you can cut off any roots & seeds & put them in a yard waste can, if your city garbage service offers such a thing, or into the trash, & the rest into a compost pile. I usually cut off the seeds or get it before it goes to seed, & toss the rest into the compost pile.

    There are often beneficial weeds that either attract & therefore sidetrack the pests or that deter pests due to a smell. Often, as mentioned, they help till the soil & add nutrients to it, as well as keep top-soil from blowing away. Therefore, people of those beliefs criticize modern agriculture in this country for creating a monoculture that requires more chemical pesticides & more chemical fertilizers. The latter is similar to giving humans strong doses of individual vitamin pills & pills to combat diseases when they really need the complete nutrients that come from healthy plant foods & herbs.

    For info on gardening with a thick mulch, see books by Ruth Stout (from the 70's, I think), such as The No-Work Garden Book. Then you can use your big shovel for something other than home gardening & use your money for something other than weed killers.

  • 1 decade ago

    If you use products according to label directions, most will leave a small foot print on ecology.

    However, most numb nuts just take a wild guess at mix ratio, never read the label. and usually over apply.

    MSMA takes care of grassy weeds.

    2-4-D takes care of broad leaf weeds.

    Once you fertilize, water, and mow correctly, lawn will really improve.

    I have been in the lawn care industry for years, and every spring I watch thousands of homeowners apply the wrong stuff after it is too late to put down.

    Hire a professional licensed company to apply all the products needed (usually 7 times a year, depending on where you live), and you do the mowing.

    You will get a beautiful lawn and not screw up the water supply in the process.

    Now go drink a beer and relax.

  • 1 decade ago

    Yes, there are organic weed killers. I've tryd them and found that there not as good and the regular weed killers out there. Check ur local home and garden store.

  • 1 decade ago

    ohh i was about to say theres a environmentally safe week and ppl kill them

    but seriously i applaud u for caring about the environment

    I do to

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  • 1 decade ago

    pick them roots and all. for big areas, place a tarp on them for a few days.

  • 1 decade ago

    Hoe, hoe, hoe.

    Source(s): Spent way too many hours in the formative years of my life on the business end of a hoe.
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