Combating Weeds in Your Garden

Without Herbicides

April 15, 2026

Herbicides kill plants - or (for pre-emerent herbicides) prevent plant germination. Overspray from herbicide application will kill desirable plants.

Water runoff from areas where herbicides are used can impact the water in the entire watershed. Herbicides can indirectly impact pollinators by eliminating habitat, and they have been shown to cause health problems in humans - including an increased rist of cancer. Levels of glyphosate have been found in soil, water, and food.

So, why not limit our use of these products? You can maintain an attractive garden without herbicides. Here's how:

Manually Remove Weeds

A soil knife (or Hori Hori knife) is a versatile hand tool that serves as an excellent weeder. For a gardener, pulling out an unwanted plant (aka weed) along with its whole root system is a very satisfying experience and this tool is made for that task. Get those plants out before they develop seed and you will limit their spread.

Mulch

Spread several inches of hardwood mulch on the exposed soil in your garden beds. This has the additional benefit of adding organic matter to your garden as the mulch decomposes throughout the season.

Where weed pressure is extreme, you can lay brown cardboard around the plants and mulch on top of the cardboard. The cardboard can be left in place and will decompose.

Plant Densely

You can defy the recommended plant spacing - although eventually you may have to thin/divide your perennials. If you fill up your garden beds, the weeds won't have bare soil to take hold and the desirable plants will out-compete the weeds.

Vinegar Solution

Make your own version of weed killer by mixing a gallon of white distilled vinegar, a cup of salt, and a tablespoon of dish soap. Distribute it via a spray bottle. This works well for areas such as patio stones, driveways, or on gravel, but it is non-selective and will kill any plant it comes in contact with. It will rinse away with rain, so reapplication may be needed.

Coexist

A few weeds (aka unwanted plants) are not the end of the world! You can learn to live with them, and many are beneficial to pollinators!