Roundup, the most widely used herbicide in the world, is facing lawsuits from tens of thousands of plaintiffs in legal actions. It is facing accusations of being carcinogenic… So, what are your alternatives?
Let’s replace Roundup and other environmentally harmful products with healthier methods. Especially because there are many other solutions.
ARE WEEDS REALLY BAD?
Characterizing unwanted plants as “weeds” is certainly an abuse of language, but it at least has the merit of being evocative for many of us. Furthermore, while I consider that no weed is bad, let the purists not blame me for using this term sometimes. But in the end, why do these weeds almost always end up prevailing over those we wish to see thrive?
Simply because we often pay too little attention to the conditions of the environment in which we plant our beloved plants. However, cultivated plants, whether ornamental or horticultural, are often much more demanding than wild plants. They therefore grow more slowly than their wild companions, which are perfectly adapted to those conditions. Can we then say that they are bad? Especially when we know the ecological usefulness they can have… Because with them, a whole set of species can find their place in your garden, and thus, a whole ecosystem can be restored. For example, pollinators are much more attracted to and better nourished by wild flowers than by most cultivated flowers. And the impact on your crops can be very rapid: better pollinated fruit trees, better regulated pesticides, …
The first step is therefore to ask oneself the following question: should wild weeds be eradicated from my entire land at the expense of hard work, or do I finally accept that, without effort on my part, they occupy a more or less important place in exchange for the services they can provide me?
However, I agree that in some places, we do not want to see them arrive in large quantities. On a terrace or in the vegetable garden, it can be really annoying.
WEEDING IN THE VEGETABLE GARDEN
It has been a long time since weeding the vegetable garden disappeared for me, and I admit that I find it difficult to imagine that some continue to fight tirelessly. My technique is very simple and is based on two methods: permanently covering the ground and false sowing.
Let’s play with competition
Light is the factor that limits plant growth most easily controlled to limit weed proliferation, and that is how they often prevail over our vegetables. Have you ever observed weeds under well-developed cabbages? No, there are none. And vice versa, have you ever tried to plant cabbages in a sea of tall weeds? It is very likely that they will end up smothered. In both cases, it is the lack of light that prevents one or the other from growing.
Once we have understood this, it is very simple to control weeds in the vegetable garden. When our vegetable plants are young, small, and need a lot of light, just deprive the competition of this valuable resource by covering it with a thick layer of mulch. Once the vegetables are well developed, weeds are often no longer a problem.
If we do not have enough mulch, another equally effective method is to sow plants from the category of green manure. They will grow much faster than weeds and once again deprive them of access to light. Afterwards, simply mow down the green manures to get rid of them.
The combination of mulch and green manures is very effective for transplanted vegetables, but much more difficult to implement in the case of those sown on the spot, as they need a clear surface to germinate properly. This is especially true for seeds that take a long time to germinate, such as carrots.
In this case, I use the false sowing technique to deceive the weeds. False sowing consists of preparing the soil as if we were going to sow, but without sowing anything, and doing so 15 days or 3 weeks before the actual sowing. I crumble the surface, level it, water it, and stop there. The conditions will then be favorable for the germination of weeds, which will grow joyfully. Shortly before sowing, I pass with a hoe to cut the young seedlings that have just sprouted (at this level, they will not grow back) and voilà, my vegetables will compete much less!
Very effective, this technique has been well known to gardeners for centuries. I found it regularly mentioned in a treatise by Parisian horticulturists from the 18th century.
WEEDING YOUR TERRACE
I agree, covering with mulch or false sowing on a terrace is not easy. However, it is not necessary to resort to Roundup. As for innovations in the field of weeding, I have tried an electric weeder.
I was a little skeptical at first, but in the end I think it’s great.
After a brief preheating of the device, you pass from plant to plant holding for about 3 seconds and that’s it. Under the effect of heat (about 600°C, it is not recommended to try with your hand…) the cells of the plants burst causing the death of the vegetation. One pass is enough to eliminate annuals and perennials without reserve organs.
For more resistant plants, several passes are needed. But in any case, I find it much better than gas-powered weeders, which in the end are not much more ecological than chemical products! And besides, it’s effective! However, the reduced surface covered by the device and the time required to pass over each plant limit its use to terraces and paths where it is not always easy to weed by hand.
In summary, for those seeking more information on how to manage weeds, I highly recommend the book “Allées, pelouses, potager, massifs fleuris…” by Denis Pépin, published by Terre Vivante. In it, you learn to look differently at wild plants and find many practical tips to avoid being overrun anymore. Techniques are presented that I use like those mentioned above, but also many others equally effective, detailed, and richly illustrated. I especially appreciate that the techniques are presented according to the area of the garden in which one wishes to intervene (lawn, paths, ornamental garden, vegetable garden, …) and also the author’s opinions on the effectiveness of the techniques presented. Among other things, you learn that to be completely effective, treatment with boiling water must be repeated up to 5 times a year.
