One big list of weed killers will help know one our aim here is to help you rid of the weeks completely not only to help you find the best week killer for flower beds.
Are you having problems with weeds in your flower beds, you’re not alone! Looking for the best weed killer for flower beds and hope to stop them returning then we have you covered the process of removing weeds is not just about adding a weed killer.
There are a few steps in the process of riding the weeds from your flower bed for good as there is nothing more annoying to a gardener having a beautiful flower bed that is plagued with weeds the steps are not difficult and an easy to carry out to rid them pesky weeds.
Step One – Don’t dig flower beds
Now I know don’t dig your flower beds may sound silly but it has real merit, every inch of your garden will contain weed seeds however only the top 2inchs will get the adequate amount of sunlight to trigger the germination process to allow the weeds to grow. So if you dig your boarders over you are bringing the hidden seeds to the surface allowing them to grow.
So the best practice if only ever dig in your flower beds when you need like when you are planting new flowers and disturb as little of the ground as you possibly can.
Step Two – Push the weeds out
Close planting is another step that you can take in tackling weed growth, let’s be truthful what gardener needs an excuse to plant more plants but we have a good reason this time.
The close planting will block out any light to the soil which will stop the weed seeds germination process, it can take some planning so your flower beds don’t look too wild but an easy tip to follow is large plants at the back getting smaller towards the front.
To prevent your flower beds looking overgrown its recommended that you plant to the plant label requirements, but I would move them a little closer than suggested to make sure you don’t get any gaps.
Step Three – Remove the weeds
This is the first step of overcoming a weed problem how you remove the weeds I feel makes a big difference from your overall results so I will cover them both below and give my thoughts on both ways.
The first method is using a weed killer this is the easiest way of removing the weeds from your flower bed, my suggestion that will get this job done would be No products found. I would use the supplied sprayer if you have a flowerbed that is heavy with flowers this will allow you to direct the weed killer only onto the weeds.
I have found that this method work really well but a tip here is applying the weed killer twice, the reason for this is that the leaves on the weed may be dead but the roots will still be alive and the weed will reshoot. This is not only this weed killer I have found this to be the same with all weed killers, how I apply is spray weeds and then four days later reapply then four more days you shouldn’t have to worry about any reshooting weeds.
The second method and one I really like is to use a weeding tool, we have put together an article on choosing the best weeding tool here if you want to give that a read, but the reason that I really like this method is your all done in one go. Ok, it takes a little more work than method one but don’t us gardeners like more garden work, or is that just me?
You use a weeding tool to remove the weeds but what’s really good about this method is that you can get into the weed and remove it all in one fail swoop root and all, this is the main problem why people continue to have problems as they don’t remove the root.
Step Four – Apply a weed barrier
Now the black blanket weed barrier has a bit of a bad name with some gardeners I believe it has its place in a garden but can add a few problems when adding to a flowerbed and I have covered them at the end of this post, we recommend No products found. this is a great solution. It comes in small bags you then add water and it expands and you spread it onto your flower beds what is great about this mulch that I have found is that it doesn’t blow away in the wind and as it does not float it works well on slopes.
Mulch works perfectly in blocking the light to the soil not allowing the weed seeds the light they need. CoCo Mulch is a perfect habitat insect to live like crickets and carabid beetles that seek out the weed seeds to eat.
As we know above that the seeds from weeds can grow in the top 2inchs if they are exposed to the suns light, so the best practice for mulch is to make it 2inch don’t make it too much more as this can prevent the soil from getting the oxygen that your flowers need.
Many people use bark as there weed barrier this is not recommended as the gaps are much bigger and will allow light onto the soil and the big gaps are a perfect breeding ground for weeds.
Step Five – Weed Preventer
Now we have all the weeds pulled or killed with weed killer and the CoCo Mulch added I then add a weed preventer to give that extra protection, my personal recommendation is Preen Garden Weed Preventer from Amazon as it’s also a plant feeder it achieves two jobs in one.
To apply the preen garden weed preventer its recommend that you lay your mulch and then apply the preen garden weed preventer give the covered area a good watering as this will activate the granules and help it bed into your mulch, you apply this every 6 months and with all the above steps you shouldn’t have any problems with weeds.
Step Six – Don’t feed the weeds
A water drought is not something any gardener wants to hear about but this one you will create and will help in keeping the weeds out when watering your flowers try not to water the areas with no flowers this will, in turn, leave the weeds thirsty.
This is not a big issue if you have followed all the steps and applied the weed preventer to all areas of the flower beds but will have a big impact if you didn’t.
Final thoughts
Above should radically reduce your garden weed problem I also suggest that at every chance you get you to add a good compost or organic matter this will enrich your flowerbeds fewer seeds will germinate in soil that is rich in good compost or organic matter don’t forget your flowers will love it too.
If you are on the lookout for organic matter then a local farm or stables, if you have one, will be able to help you out, I use Charlie's Compost that you can get from Amazon.
Blanket weed protection
I covered above about the black placket weed protection a little and how it has a bit of a bad name, this is true but it has its place and can have its place in a flowerbed if used correctly.
You still have to follow all the above steps in tackling the problem but you add an extra step by adding the weed blanket then the mulch and carry on the process. If you are going to use a weed blanket we recommend ECOgardener Premium.
But it has a bad name I bet your thinking and yes it does and this is why, when applying the weed blanket people don’t overlay each piece that they lay leaving gaps for weeds to shoot thought. It’s my recommendation that you overlay by at least 10cm’s if you want to add an extra layer of protection.
Also people lay this and think it’s a miracle cure it’s not, unfortunately, you still have to follow the steps above to give the weeds a kick, weeds will grow on top of the weed blanket it’s important to get these out as soon as you see them as it can turn into a big job if they penetrate the blanket and you have to remove the mulch to repair the weed blanket.
So overall it has a little bit of unfair reparation of not being very good it just needs to be used correctly, I would recommend it as an extra layer of protection as long as you follow all the other steps in the process and you will see it as a benefit, not as a negative.
So we hope that helps you with your garden weed problems and if you need any advice just drop us a line and we will do our best to help and as others may be facing the problem you are we will add it to the blog post as we want to help everyone as best as we can in there garden.