Mechanical weed control used in three ways.
1st Cutting off the plant. When doing this, it is important to cut the plant below the growing point. Which is the point on the plant where it grows out of. If you cut the plant above the growing point the plant will continue to grow and expand.
2nd Pulling up plants by the roots. It is the most time-consuming method when you have to do this by hand.
3rd Cover the plants so that no light reaches them. All plants require sunlight to grow.
The fastest method is by quickly heating the weeds using a weed brurner. It's important to understand you should not actively burn the weeds away (do not start a fire that you can't control) but just sweep the flame over the weeds. The fluid in the cells expands when heated and burst the cell walls. The plant can no longer take up fluid and nutrients and dies. Some weeds die immediately after treatment, while others survive. These weeds require repeated treatment. Do not give up - be patient.
"Previously, almost all weed control on hard surfaces was done with chemical pesticides in Sweden. As in recent years, increased environmental awareness, has forced the use of chemical pesticides to be reduced. (...) The municipal managers rely on thermal and mechanical methods. The cost of weed control has increased dramatically, in some places to five times the original cost, not only because the alternative methods are more expensive and less effective in itself, but also because the knowledge on how to use them in many places are inadequate. "
Written by Håkan Schroeder and David Hansson, the researchers at the Agricultural University Department of Landscape and Gardening Technology at Alnarp. The book can be ordered by LUCKO – contact us at info@svearedskap.se
© 2018