For people who want to grow more food with less work. 🌱 This is my weekly newsletter loved by 38,000+ subscribers—here's what one of them had to say: "These are not the regular run-of-the-mill garden-based emails. You actually touch on more unusual tidbits that encourage me to keep growing and learning."
how to use the sun ☀️ to control weeds and pests
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If you've just about had it with all the pests, weeds, and diseases plaguing your garden the past few seasons, it might be time to think about solarizing your soil. Most gardeners have never tried (or even heard) of this method, but it's one that a lot of farmers and homesteaders use to keep large plots of their land fertile and trouble-free. You don't need to have a lot of land to give it a try though! It works even with a single raised garden bed. Solarization is a non-toxic, nearly hands-off method that controls common pests, annual weeds, and soil-borne diseases (and naturally improves soil tilth and fertility) with nothing more than a sheet of plastic and the power of the sun. No chemicals needed! About 13 years ago, I tried solarization as a last-ditch effort to "bake" my soil in my old garden in SoCal, and ended up with a fresh clean slate to grow in—almost like I'd just trucked in a load of brand-new, disease-free soil. I highly recommend this method if you constantly struggle with bugs and blight and everything else you've tried has failed. It doesn't harm humans, pets, or wildlife; it doesn't put questionable chemicals into your soil or in the air; it's not as time- or labor-intensive as other means of weed and pest control; and it's very inexpensive. But the key to successfully solarizing your soil is to do it soon so you can plant in your garden again by late summer! Here's exactly how you do that, and why you should try soil solarization in your garden. Seasonal tipsP.S. If you're tired of battling weeds and pests in your garden beds, this summer might be the time to try soil solarization. P.P.S. Memorial Day is fast approaching and FastGrowingTrees has an early holiday sale going on. Now through May 24, use code EXTRA25 to get 25% off everything on their site! |
Garden Betty
For people who want to grow more food with less work. 🌱 This is my weekly newsletter loved by 38,000+ subscribers—here's what one of them had to say: "These are not the regular run-of-the-mill garden-based emails. You actually touch on more unusual tidbits that encourage me to keep growing and learning."