The Green Gardener: Win the weed war, organically

If you haven't kept up with weeding over this wet winter you may find yourself knee high in dandelions, stinging nettle, and grasses. You may be tempted to reach for an herbicide, but please consider the following before you do.

According to the Environmental Protection Agency, 60 percent of herbicides are known to be carcinogenic. The British Medical Journal and the Columbia University School of Public Health are reporting that an estimated 75 to 95 percent of cancer is caused by environmental toxicity and diet. I personally feel controlling weeds by organic methods is no more work than spraying. And it is worth it to avoid poisoning myself, my loved ones, my neighbors, my watershed, and my world.

What can you do to control those weeds besides spraying dangerous chemicals? There is always good old-fashioned pulling. But if the problem is bigger than your fists can handle, you may want to try cutting them down with a weed whacker and then kill the remaining stumps. You can heat the stumps and smaller weeds with a propane-fueled torch (where appropriate) or smother them with mulch.

I have the Primus Gardener Weed Torch available through A.M. Leonard's (800-543-8955, www.amleo.com) for approximately $50 and I love it. Many people say they are afraid of catching the house on fire when I share this tool, but this fear is unfounded. Just use common sense. You are not actually burning anything with this torch-like tool. You merely heat the weed enough to burst the cell walls-to about 95 to 110 degrees. This causes the plant to dry out after a few days from too much evaporation. Light weeds may die at once, but some may need repeated treatment.

Mulch, which is defined as any loose material placed over the soil surface, can be effective in smothering weeds. Shredded bark, leaves, straw, compost, gravel, or even plastic can be used as mulch. Because of the toll it is taking on our environment, especially the ocean, I would recommend against using plastic. Mulch of a plant-based material provides the added benefit of enriching the soil nutritionally and structurally. But whatever is used, there are many advantages to using mulch. Among them are reducing moisture loss, insulating the soil, preventing erosion, and looking tidy. The general rule in applying mulch is to apply 2- to 4-inch deep (I've gone 6 inches or more in some situations) and keep away from the stems of the plants.

There may be a few that persist through the whacking, heating, and mulch, but don't give up. Continue to smother, burn, pull, and/or dig up the toughies. Eventually you will win the battle. Then next year you can start out ahead of the game with a layer of mulch between all your plants. Nature does not like bare dirt. If you don't cover the dirt with mulch, then nature will cover it with weeds.

There was an episode of Seinfeld where Kramer said, 'You've got to mulch. YOU'VE GOT TO!' I agree.

Ufkes holds a BS in landscape architecture from Cal Poly Pomona, and practices environmentally friendly landscape design in Southern California.