As autumn closes in and winter appears on the horizon, it may feel weird to be worrying more about gardening as part of nature closes down for the cold seasons. However, there is still work to be done in the garden and always things to be tended to or prepared before the return of spring on the other side of the new year.
Weeds can be one of the perennial problems associated with tending to one’s garden as they spring up when and where people don’t want them. There are various ways of dealing with weeds with a variety of experts weighing on the best methods of eradicating them from people’s gardens.
This has included a variety of recipes for how to stop weeds from growing. However, one expert has suggested that one concoction can be made out of two things people have at home – washing-up liquid and water.
David Kuchta explained that it could help stop weeds from growing because of its use in helping to break down grease and kill germs on dishes at home. Writing in Hunker, Mr Kuchta explained: “Soap is made of fatty acids and alkaline substances.
“As research published in Frontiers in Plant Science explains, the fatty acids in soaps strip away the waxy surface of some weeds, causing the leaves to dry out and the plant to die.”
As to which soaps to use and how to deploy it, Mr Kuchta added that the best way to deploy the mixture was through a spray bottle and suggested that various studies had suggested using liquid soap would be effective if five percent, ten percent, and 20 percent solutions.
Furthermore, he suggested applying the herbicidal soap “on a warm sunny day with no rain in the forecast”.
Mr Kuchta isn’t the only gardening expert to have suggested ways of killing weeds with one expert suggesting that in some cases the best method is to simply pull the weeds out rather than spray them.
Talking to the Express, TN Nursery’s Tammy Sons advised: “The quickest method for me is to pull weeds after a light rain or early in the morning when the soil is still moist.
“It helps to loosen the soil and make it easier to pull the whole weed, roots and all, out in one smooth motion.”
Tammy’s advice was echoed by Chris Taylor who added: “I’ve found that the quickest way to tackle weeds is to pull them right after rain or watering, as the roots slide out much more easily.”