I have a garden of about 200 square meters and this year the weeds came back worse than before. I'd prefer to avoid chemical weedkillers because I have small children playing on the grass. What natural methods actually work?
Chemical weedkillers aren't exactly the enemy number one, you know! I mean, if you use them properly and keep the kids away while you're applying them, they work.
But I totally get that you want to avoid them, especially with little ones crawling all over the grass all day. So, there are actually quite a few natural methods that really do give results, but you've gotta be patient because they're not as miraculous as chemical sprays.
The most effective method in my opinion is manual pulling combined with thermal weeding! Like, you take boiling water and pour it directly on the weeds when there's no wind - kills the surface roots right away. For the stubborn ones (like dandelions and clover) you really gotta get off your butt and pull them out with a little shovel, trying to get the root too. I know it's annoying for 200 square meters, but after the first pass you're good for quite a while.
Another trick that works is sprinkling salt or white vinegar directly on the weeds, not all over the lawn! Vinegar is less harsh on the soil than salt, and you repeat it every two weeks. Mulching with grass clippings or bark cuts down a ton on new weed growth, so keep a layer a few centimeters thick.
And then, honestly, a taller lawn (mow at 5-6 cm instead of short) naturally competes with the weeds, they prefer open spaces. Between pulling, boiling water and good frequent mowing, you'll see improvements in a month!
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