Eight Natural Ways to Control Weeds

1. The first tip is weed prevention. That’s right, with just a few simple steps you can keep an army of weeds from popping up in the first place. The first step to prevention is to make sure you are using top-soil, mulch, and lawn seed that is weed free. If the package does not say “weed free" chances are, you are unknowingly putting weeds into your garden. It’s a terrible and tragic truth not many gardeners are aware of, so pay a few cents more and make sure the bag says “weed free."
   
2. For mass weed prevention, cover your garden with either a 10 sheet-thick layer of newspaper, fiber cloth, or rip apart a paper lawn refuse bags and cover every inch of your garden (except of course the plants) before adding a final layer of topsoil or mulch. The paper will be thick enough to prevent weeds from popping through. Each year, when you add new mulch, check the newspaper and add more layers where needed. This method is environmentally friendly and really works.
   
3. The strategy for effective weed control is to prevent weeds from growing below (which is why you use the newspaper as a barrier) and to keep weeds from germinating above the barrier. Wind can blow weed seeds from one area of your lawn to your garden, so it is important to naturally rid your lawn and entire yard of weeds to prevent spreading. To avoid this, do what golf courses do to fight weeds and regularly mowing the grass to prevent weeds seeds.
   
4. Likewise, those bird feeders are beautiful in your garden, but the uneaten food (seeds) can spring up multiple weeds within your garden. Instead of having bird feeders in your garden, keep them about 10-20 feet away in trees and other areas away from your garden, but still accessible and safe for birds.
   
5. This might not be the most popular method, but manually pulling weeds is a tried and true way to naturally get rid of weeds. Be sure to use a shovel or a weeding tool and remove the weed by the root. To make the job easier do this just after a rain, or after watering your garden.
   
6. To prevent new weeds, greenhouses practice sanitation, which means they clean their shoes, uniforms, tools and equipment to make sure they are not harboring, and thus spreading weed seeds. After you weed the garden, rinse off your gloves, tools and knee pads to rinse anyway any seeds.
   
7. Healthy plants can also eliminate weeds. A natural way to add fertilizer to the soil to help grown strong plants is to visit your local coffee shop, such as Starbucks, and ask them for a bag of their used espresso grounds. Don’t be shy. Starbucks corporate offices encourage employees to promote this “freebie" as it is a great way to recycle coffee grinds. The espresso acts as a natural fertilizer that will do miracles for the health and growth rate of your plants!
   
8. A by-product of cornstarch is corn gluten-meal which has been proven to safely rid gardens of weeds without harming other plants that are established. Corn gluten also adds nitrogen to the soil, so it acts as a natural fertilizer as well. Bonus!