How to deal with weeds in Arizona
In the Arizona desert, April showers bring May flowers, but they also bring more than that. They also bring these pesky, resilient little things called weeds. As the temperatures in Arizona start to approach the hundreds, the last thing you want to be doing is hand-picking weeds.
There are a lot of ways to get rid of your weeds. Let’s explore a few of our recommended tactics and you can decide which weed killer is best for you.
Roundup & Ortho Spray
Pros: Near Instant Weed Killing
Cons: Highly toxic, Risk of killing other plants
Roundup and Ortho spray are two very strong, highly toxic weed-killing sprays. If you are a “no funny business” kind of weed killer, then this is your stuff. You can purchase these weed killers at any local home & garden store.
These sprays are post-emergent solutions, which means they are good solutions for when weeds have already sprouted. Be careful to not use these sprays on windy days where the wind may get it on yourself or other plants. When applying Roundup or Ortho spray, make sure you are wearing gloves, a face mask, and long sleeve shirt to avoid contact with skin. Tear off a section of cardboard and place the cardboard between the weeds and your plants so that you don’t accidentally kill your plants.
Vinegar & Salt-Based Solutions
Pros: A greener approach to weed killing
Cons: Requires multiple applications to be effective
Vinegar and salt-based solutions are homemade weed-killing remedies that are safer for the environment, your plants, your pets, and yourself. There are plenty of recipes online that you can check out, but we recommend 1 gallon of vinegar with 1 oz of dish soap. Mix it in a spray bottle and apply it directly to weeds. If you don’t want to make your own solution, try purchasing Green Gobbler.
These solutions are also post-emergent solutions, which means they are used for when weeds have already sprouted. A word of caution, just because this solution is safer, it may still kill your plants, so it’s best to avoid accidentally spraying plants.
Weed Barrier
Pros: Eliminates almost all weeds for a couple of years
Cons: Becomes brittle and tears over time, Very difficult to remove, Expensive
A weed barrier (or barrier cloth) is a mesh material that gets laid down before you lay your gravel. It doesn’t allow sunlight through and suppresses allowing the weed to germinate. It’s the most expensive weed killing solution, and you need to leave room in the weed barrier around your plants and trees.
This is a pre-emergent solution, which means it is a preventative measure before weeds begin sprouting. A word of warning, if you have rocks in your landscaping, they can oftentimes hook the mesh and tear it. Over time, the mesh becomes brittle and if it tears, you will need to haul your gravel out into the street in order to take it up.
Amaze
Pros: Very Effective, Inexpensive, Low Maintenance
Cons: Toxic, Not green conscious
Amaze is a product that you can buy at any home and garden store. It comes in a granulated form that can be spread across your yard using a hand spreader. There are a lot of benefits to using Amaze. It only needs to be applied every 6 months, in the winter and the summer. It also won’t kill your other plants.
Amaze is a pre-emergent solution, which means it is a preventative measure before weeds begin sprouting. It works by keeping seeds from germinating. At only about $20 per bag, this is our most recommended week-killing solution.
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These are the recommendations that we would give you if you work with us. Want to talk plants?. If you want to bring your landscaping dreams to life, we can help by creating a professional landscape design and install plan.
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