Your mobile home is an investment and as such you want to make sure it is kept in the best condition possible. That doesn’t just mean the inside… your exterior matters, too. Many people don’t even consider their yard when they first buy their mobile home. But chances are you have started to consider what to do with that space now, or you already started and are running into the usual problems people have when they plant a garden.
Weeds are an infuriating and frustrating part of managing a garden. They seem to pop up out of nowhere and where there is one, there are a dozen set to follow. You could go from having a single stubborn little weed to suddenly having your garden overcome with the buggers, sucking up nutrients your plants need to grow and creating an eyesore in the process.
How do you tackle this green menace? Here are some tips on avoiding weeds in the garden and taking care of them when they do manage to creep into your mobile home’s garden.
Removing Weeds From Your Mobile Home’s Garden
The first step to managing a weed problem is taking care of the one that is already there. Pulling them is the most effective way of getting them out because it yanks out the root that, if left, would allow them to grow back. Weed wackers can pull some of them, but others will only get cut at the soil level. The problem will only keep recurring.
Wait until you have either watered your garden, or there has been a significant rain and the soil is damp and soft. If the soil is too hard you will break them off without the root when you pull them off. If you have harder soil that isn’t softening, use a hand shovel or other gardening tool to break through around the root of the weed. Be sure to wear thick gardening gloves, as many weed types can be hard on the skin and even cause rashes or cuts when you pull them.
What do you do with the weeds when they are pulled out? You can just toss them, sure, but then what good have they ever done? You can actually make weeds work for you by adding them to compost. They will break down and nourish your garden just like any other plant matter.
One other (high maintenance) option is to use livestock to eat the weeds. Many many will buy chickens or goats in order to have them eat the weeds in their gardens. However, this means also caring for the animals correctly, feeding them, etc. There are benefits like fresh eggs or goats milk, not to mention the aspect of having them as pets. But make sure you are ready for the responsibility before you go this route.
You also need more space. Mobile homes come in all different shapes and sizes and are placed on all different sizes of land. So if you have a fair amount of yard you should be fine. If you have only a small space in the front or back or the house, skip the livestock.
The last option is scalding. This doesn’t work for the garden itself as it can damage plants or soil and wreak havoc on your yard. But if you have weeks growing other places, such as through concrete, or creeping between the slates of your mobile home, you can scald them back. Just boil some water and pour it over the weeds. It will burn them down to the roots and keep them from growing back if they go through a couple of “treatments”.
Preventing Weeds From Growing
If you have taken care of your weed problem, or if one hasn’t developed yet, you can prevent weeds from ever growing in the first place.
Possibly the best tip is to paper and mulch your garden. Dig down a few inches into the soil. Put down newspaper in layer so the whole area is covered. Keep in mind that newspaper is specifically used for this purpose because it is lighter than most paper and won’t weigh down plants trying to grow. Once the area is covered, lay down plenty of mulch until you can no longer see the newspaper.
In the beginning, weeds are stronger and may be able to push through the newspaper and keep growing. Another layer of paper and mulch should take care of this and keep further weeds from being able to grow. That is because you are suffocating them, keeping them from getting the sunlight and oxygen they need.
You can keep weeds from growing between plants by choking them out. Just plant things closer together, even if they are different species. You can also grow weed-dominating flora between your main plants, such as Golden Fleece or Herman’s Pride.
Natural Weed Killers
Herbicides are never pleasant and they can hurt your mobile home’s garden, or the insects and animals who help it thrive. You want something that is going to work without killing everything else around it. Luckily, you can make your own.
The popular recipe that has been used by gardeners for generations is made with only two ingredients: About four liters of vinegar and about thirty milliliters of dishwashing soap. You mix the two and cover weeds… within two days they will be dead and gone.
Some people will also add in a cup of salt but this can be dangerous to your garden. Salt in the soil can impede growth, especially of more delicate plants. Think carefully before you add it to your herbicide.
This weed killer has the additional positive of also repelling many pests. So you will be killing two birds with one stone, so to speak.
Protect Your Mobile Home’s Garden From Worrisome Weeds!
You work hard on your garden, don’t let weeds ruin it for you. Use the above methods to yank the suckers out, keep them at bay and maybe even prevent them from ever growing and putting your lovely yard at risk.