2530 SAN PABLO AVENUE, BERKELEY, CA 94702 | 510.548.2220 X 233
[email protected] | WWW.ECOLOGYCENTER.ORG Non-Toxic Weed Control Weed control can be achieved Organic Weed Control through a combination of planting • Mulch. To get weeds under techniques, mulching, hand control, try sheet mulching. Put pulling, hoeing and prevention. down newspaper or corrugated Unfortunately, there are no cardboard one or two inches environmentally safe miracle thick. Cover with two to four products that come in bottles. inches of straw, leaves, or wood Weeds can be beneficial, and they chips. Keep the mulched area can be controlled with the tried and moderately moist. Sheet mulching true suggestions below. can be especially effective against hard-to-control weeds because Beneficial Uses of Weeds it robs them of light and doesn’t • Improve your soil. You can use allow them to grow past the deep-rooted weeds to improve barrier. (Mulching also holds in your soil. Some deep divers open soil moisture, reducing the need up the subsoil to water and to the for watering.) Avoid using plastic roots of more delicate plants. (Try sheeting, because it blocks out air lambsquarter, sowthistle, vetch, and kills the beneficial organisms wild chicory, plantain, purslane, in your soil that keep it healthy. nightshade.) After a plot has been weeded, • Attract beneficial insects. Many a four-inch-thick organic mulch weeds also provide pollen for helps control weeds by inhibiting bees and serve as a refuge for the germination of weed seeds certain beneficial insects. (Try beneath the mulch. Any weeds weed control mustard, wild radish, pigweed, that root in the loose mulching white sweet clover.) material are also easier to pull.