Stop Weeds Before they Begin

I got really lazy last month with the weeding.  It had been raining a lot and when it stopped I just wasn't up to going out into the yard and weeding.  Next thing I knew they were as tall as me, you think I'm kidding but I'm not, and harder than heck to pull out.  I looked kind of like this while pulling them out.

 

 

 

Here it is, that time again when the weeds become so predominant I can't pass my eyes over them anymore.  Is it just me or does anyone else absolutely hate this chore?  I don't know how gardeners do it.  I know I need to go out and do it before they get to be five feet tall again, but why when they are just going to grow back in a couple of weeks.  I'm surprised at this rate weeds haven't taken over the world yet. 

 

As an acupuncturist I'm always telling my clients that we have to treat the root or cause of the illness/injury as well as the symptoms or they will just come back, yet I keep pulling the weeds week in and week out without actually dealing with the cause of this overgrowth.  Hence why they keep coming back so quickly.  So I thought, why not think smarter and keep them from returning as quickly if at all? 

 

Setting about in search of a "cure" for my weed infestation I came across a pin on how to prevent weeds from germinating, thereby preventing their growth before they can take root.  Brilliant!  Whoever came up with this one was a pure genius, Einstein like.  Who would have thought it could be as easy as sprinkling a little corn meal into the planter beds?  A note from the original author, apparently the cornmeal will keep any seeds from germinating so make sure your veggies or plants are fully grown before you sprinkle the cornmeal or you risk stunting their growth as well.  You can find the original post here.

Before I can implement said strategy though I first have to go pull all the weeds.  Ugh!  Oh well the dirty work needs to get done some time, might as well be now.  I get down to it and two hours later I've got both the front and back yard planters de-weeded (not sure if that is really a word, but I like it so I'm going with it).  Now for the cornmeal, *rubbing my hands together with an evil look on my face*.  The post doesn't really give much instruction so I just use a scoop and sprinkle a generous amount throughout the garden beds. 

 

Not much to do now but wait and hope that Monkey is wrong and we don't attract a bunch of birds to the cornmeal.  Although, bonus, it seems that ants also like to eat the cornmeal but cannot digest it, killing them all off (link to that little nugget here along with some other fun facts).  Yes, maybe I will sprinkle it along the driveway as well into their nest.

 

I also found out that lining the soil with wet newspaper and mulch will keep weeds from growing so I plan on doing that as well in the future.  I want to see what the cornmeal on its own can do first.

 

I'll keep you posted on the results.  Until next time, wish me luck.