Costco Flyer - 04/01-04/30/2023 (Page 38)

weeds in a landscape setting are a major concern for competition for natural resources "weeds are plants growing where we don't want them," says costco department of plant & soil sciences we want our plants to be more compet- work in fertilizer or compost close to than spreading it over the surface of the weed seedlings will not have easy access to those resources." omielan suggests setting up soaker hoses in flower beds to direct water to your plants and not nearby weeds "remember that the size of the above- ground foliage we see is supported by lawn at the recommended height for your region and season so the grass plants have roots deep enough for vig- orous growth and drought tolerance." chemistry involvement to minimize the harm to other solution of water and vinegar or herbi- also use a string trimmer to cut weeds herbicide that stays active in the soil for an extended period of time and pre- vents the germination of weed seeds herbicides and other chemical treatments should be used with care professor of weed science at north carolina state university in raleigh "don't use any herbicides on hardscapes that you would not use around land- herbicide you apply will be encountered by the roots of desirable trees and to weeds in the cracks of non-porous hardscapes can wash off into the sur- turf where herbicides washed from way to avoid injury to desirable plants is to use only herbicides labelled for use in the adjacent lawn or landscape." not all weed seeds require light for germination and some can escape natu- ral control measures like landscape are controlled by the herbicides in weed cal applications that will kill existing unique properties and uses," says neal research to make sure you are using the right product for the task." decide what you want to accom- take the surrounding area into account important to use them as directed on best to ask for advice ahead of time rather than having to deal with the con- sequences of a misapplied product." rosie wolf williams is an award-winning writer based in vermont types of mulches choose a mulch depending on your particular needs including weed control mulches fall into two mulches and synthetic are any type of mulch that use hay-it is full of weed organic mulch is applied break down into the soil and supply nutrients for the plant's roots synthetic mulches combine bonding agents with natural or synthetic fibres and are made of with recycled materials are specially produced as mulch.-rww