One constant battle home gardeners must face is dealing with unwanted plants and bugs in their well-tended beds. Killing pests is fundamental to a good garden, but weeds are simply plants that you didn’t select. Unfortunately, most bugs and weeds are hardy and tough to kill. That is, without damaging the stuff you do want around, or more importantly, fucking up the ecosystem; the Audubon Society claims that 672 million birds are exposed to pesticides annually, of which 67 million birds die (to say nothing of the harmful effects to fish and other aquatic life from this stuff running off into the groundwater).

Moreover, a lot of the chemicals we use in our gardens have properties that are dangerous to us as well:

Of 30 commonly used lawn pesticides, 19 are linked with cancer or carcinogencity, 13 are linked with birth defects, 21 with reproductive effects, 26 with liver or kidney damage, 15 with neurotoxicity, and 11 with disruption of the endocrine (hormonal) system. [beyondpesticides.org]

There are other options that will not harm the environment, yet will safely and effectively control your weeds.

• Vinegar-based Deadeye will kill your weeds with direct sprays, but it’ll also kill grass and whatever else you spray, including your desired plants and vegetables.

• WOW! controls weeds before they emerge, including crabgrass, creeping bentgrass, foxtail, lamb’s-quarters, purslane, and other unwanted vegetation, using a corn syrup byproduct. Bonus: It releases nitrogen in the ground, so it’s actually good for your soil.

• Herbicidal soaps operate on the dehydration plan, usually working within a week of the application. The idea is to spray directly upon the undesired area, much like with the vinegar method. You should have a dry, dead plant to pull up within seven days. I’m wondering, of course, why you wouldn’t just pull the sucker up out of the ground in the first place.

(image: gardenutah.org)