How to Limit Weeds in Your Garden
Weeds, the fast-growing plants that cannot be eaten and do not bring flowers, are a common problem for gardeners. Some use chemicals to kill weeds. Others pull them up by hand or with heavy machinery. Luckily, there are other ways to limit their growth.
Mulches
For starters, there are mulches which can bury weeds. Mulches are made from organic material, such as leaves, grass cuttings, and small pieces of wood, or inorganic material like plastic. They are spread over the ground in a garden to control weeds.
Organic mulches break down over time so you must add more to your garden often. That is not a bad thing, because their decomposition creates nutrients for plants and humus to keep soils wet and full of fresh air.
Plastic mulch is another way to stop weeds. Common black plastic is easy to lay down. It also effectively blocks weeds and helps soil warm faster in the spring. Recent experiments with other colored plastic have shown effects on both bugs and plant growth. A reflective plastic mulch, for example, keeps some plant-eating insects away.
A major problem with plastic is that it breaks apart over time, so eventually it needs to be thrown away. It also adds nothing to the soil as far as nutrients or humus. And plastic also can block air from reaching the soil.
One kind of mulch that combines some of the qualities of both plastic and organic material is paper. Paper mulch is easy to lay down and eventually decomposes. However, paper adds little to the soil in terms of humus or nutrients.
Birds
For larger gardens where the weeds are mainly grasses, a somewhat unusual way to control them is using the birds known as geese.
Young geese will eat their weight in weeds every day. A small group of geese can clear weeds in half a hectare of land and keep each other company. All you need to provide is water, protection from the sun, and some additional feed. You also need barriers to keep the geese in and other animals out. One warning, though, do not plant corn or they will eat that, too.
Other ways to control weeds
Finally, in addition to direct attacks on weeds, how you plant your garden can indirectly influence weed growth.
For example, close spacing of plants in the garden blocks sunlight from reaching the ground and can limit weed growth. And using a watering method known as drip irrigation will direct small amounts of water to the roots of your plants instead of the weeds.
Whether or not you dig up your soil also influences weed growth. Lying in soil are millions of weed seeds just waiting to be awakened by light and air.
Using any or all of the methods will not permanently stop weed growth. Instead, your goal is simply to limit their growth in the garden.
I'm Pete Musto.
如何限制花园里的杂草
杂草是生长迅速但不能吃也不会开花的植物，杂草对园丁来说是常见问题。有些园丁会用化学药剂除去杂草。其他园丁则会用手或重型机械拔掉杂草。幸运的是，还有其他方法可以限制杂草的生长。
护根
首先，护根可以掩埋杂草。护根由有机材料制成，比如树叶、碎草、小片木头或塑料等无机材料。护根被铺在花园里的土地上以控制杂草。
有机护根会随着时间的推移而分解，因此你必须经常给花园补充护根。这并不是件坏事，因为护根分解后为会植物创造养分和腐殖质，使土壤保持湿润并充满新鲜空气。
塑料护根是防止杂草生长的另一种方法。普通的黑色塑料很容易铺设。这也能有效地阻止杂草生长，帮助土壤在春季更快回暖。最近用其他彩色塑料进行的实验显示，这种方法对虫子和植物生长都有影响。例如，反光的塑料护根可以驱离一些食草昆虫。
塑料的主要问题是它会随着时间的推移而断裂，因此最终需要扔掉。塑料不会为土壤增加养分或腐殖质。塑料还可能阻止空气进入土壤。
纸护根将塑料和有机材料的特性结合起来。纸护根容易铺设，最终会分解。然而，纸护根几乎不会为土壤增加养分或腐殖质。
鸟类
对于杂草主要是草的大花园来说，一种有些不同寻常的控制方法是：使用一种名为鹅的鸟类。
幼鹅每天都会吃掉与它们体重相等的杂草。一小群鹅可以清除半公顷土地上的杂草，并彼此陪伴。你只需要提供水、防晒保护以及额外的饲料。你还需要栅栏来隔开鹅和其他动物。不过有一个警告，不要种植玉米，否则鹅也会吃掉玉米。
其他控制杂草的方法
最后，除了直接除掉杂草，你种植花园的方式也可以间接影响杂草生长。
比如，花园中的植物间距近一些会阻挡阳光照射到地面，限制野草生长。使用滴灌浇水法可将少量水引导到植物根部而不是杂草上。
是否挖土也会影响杂草生长。土壤中有数百万棵等待被光和空气唤醒的杂草。
使用上述任何或所有方法都不能永久阻止杂草生长。因此，你的目标应该是限制花园里杂草的生长。
皮特·穆斯图报道。
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