5 Classic Weed Killers Due for a Comeback

RODALE NEWS, EMMAUS, PA—What do Halloween costumes, communism, British high tea, and backyard barbecues all have in common? They all employ a tool or tactic that our ancestors used to keep their farms and gardens weed free. While most modern gardeners think that killing weeds can be backbreaking work, there are actually quite a few hand tools and other traditional tricks that can wipe out dandelions without taking a toll on your spine.

#1: Scythe
Scythes aren’t just for Grim Reaper Halloween costumes. Search online and you’ll find there’s a large community of scythe enthusiasts who still use them for mowing fields and trimming grass. In fact, some scythers are so fond of them that they refer to the practice of trimming weeds and grass in smooth circular motions as “meditative.” The key to using a scythe is to get the European-style models; American-style scythes are heavier, and feel clumsy to novice users, while the European ones are light enough to mow grass in a few fell swoops. Proper technique and a sharp blade are important, so check with the aforementioned scythe devotees for advice (you can even buy books and videos to help you).

#2: Sickle
Kin to the scythe but easier to carry is the sickle, more commonly associated with communism and the Soviet flag than with trimming grass or cutting grain. A sickle is essentially a scythe with a shorter blade and handle, so they’re better for small-scale weed trimming or slicing bunches of herbs out of your garden. You’re also less likely to disturb the neighbors when you haul it out of the toolshed.

# 3: Tea kettle
Next time you have weeds cropping up in decorative gravel or in between the cracks in your driveway, put the teakettle on and boil some water. Boiled water is a free and extremely effective weed killer. Although you’ll be burning some sort of fuel to heat it up, the resulting carbon footprint is likely much smaller than what it took to make and transport a chemical weed killer. A word of caution: Boiling water doesn’t discriminate, so it’s best for spot treating. It kills the roots of all plants, even roots that spread underground. Therefore, use it only on weeds that are growing far away from the plants you want to keep.

#4: Charcoal
Healthy soil is key to preventing weeds from growing, and a study presented at an April 2008 meeting of the American Chemical Society found that charred wood and other blackened forms of agricultural leftovers (cornstalks, tree leaves, and such) fertilize soil better than compost, manure, and all the other traditional soil amendments. Not only that, it continues to work for thousands of years. The scientists stumbled onto their discovery after finding that some of the most fertile, rich soils in the world exist in the Amazon basin, where 1,500 years ago, tribes mixed their soil with charred animal bones and tree bark.

#5: Kids
They have perfectly sized hands for pulling weeds, and they’re already pretty close to the ground. Getting kids involved in gardening not only gets them outside and away from computers and video games, but kids who garden are also more likely to make better food choices and learn proper nutrition than kids who don’t. And as any gardener will tell you, the first thing you need to learn about gardening is how to tell the difference between a weed and a plant.

5 Classic Weed Killers Due for a Comeback

Drop that weed whacker: These traditional, low-tech weeding tricks still work.