Before the rainy season, you were on a mission to grow a beautiful garden and planted your favourite blooms. You welcomed the rain, tended your garden, and with time, your colourful flower beds sprouted. But along with all the flowers, came some unwelcome weeds! Oh no. Garden weeds are the worst – robbing nutrients and space away from your flowers and plants. Whether you want to completely avoid them taking root or need to launch a plan of attack to kill them all off, these 5 hacks will make you a happy gardener again.

1. Kitchen Accomplices: If the pesky weeds are already popping up between your garden walkway slates and threatening to overcome your flowers, fear not. A peek in your kitchen pantry will reveal a host of items you can illicit to nip them in the bud. Salt, vinegar, vodka and baking soda are all strong weed-killers. Get a spray bottle and add a few drops of liquid soap to either vinegar or vodka and spray directly on the weed, making sure to not spray your flowers. These dry the weeds out.
2. Hot Water: This is a simple and non-toxic method for weed control. Pouring boiling water on stubborn garden weeds will burn them off and desist further or new growth.
3. Mulching: Sunlight and water aid plants (and weeds!) to grow. With mulching you starve the weeds from these elements. If you start this early you can prevent weeds from growing in the first place, but even if they do, this is an effective way to suffocate them. You can choose a synthetic (plastic sheets or recycled glass) or even better, organic mulch (compost, cocoa husk or wood chips). Ideally you want the kinds that can break down to aid the soil for your flowers. Newspapers are cheap and easy. Wet the ground and stack up at least 10 newspapers over the problem areas, then top with your choice of mulch.
4. Avoid Gaps: When planting your flowers and shrubs, aim for tightness by planting in a zig-zag or diamond shape instead of in rows. Where there are gaps, garden weeds invite themselves to fill in the space.
5. Chemicals: If the weeds have just overwhelmed you by being too widespread, then perhaps it’s time to look to the stronger stuff. Weedicides and herbicides contain strong chemicals that effectively eliminate unwanted weeds from your garden. These will kill the visible weeds and their roots so they can’t sprout easily. Do your research and go for selective herbicides that will only kill the weeds and not damage your actual garden.

You’ve put too much work into your garden to let unwanted plants and weeds wreak havoc.  With these 5 methods, we’re sure you’ll be able to regain control and can start to enjoy your outdoor space again. Tried any other weed-killing tricks that work well? Share with us in the comments section below.