In the old days, homeowners had no choice but to get down on their hands and knees and pull up weeds or dig them out with some sort of tool. This was a tough, time-consuming task, but it did the trick, and in the process the gardener got a good workout. Today, most homeowners prefer to control weeds chemically by using herbicides. Master gardener Paul James conducts an experiment to find the fastest, least expensive and most biologically efficient method for controlling weeds:
For the experiment, James uses a large bed at the back of his property that has many weeds, both annual and perennial varieties. First, he divides the bed in half. On one side of the bed his friend Danny will use hand tools, including a scuffle hoe. On the other side of the bed, his friend Mike will use a non-selective herbicide that will kill anything green. James will time how long it takes for each one to complete the job.
- To get started, Danny grabs his favorite weeding tools. Mike dons his protective clothing, gloves, boots, goggles and a respirator. Chances are you won't go to this extreme to protect yourself but, says James, maybe you should.
- Before he begins spraying, Mike reads label directions and carefully adds the herbicide concentrate to a tank sprayer. He fills the sprayer with water and pressurizes the tank. He then covers nearby landscape plants to prevent any overspray of the herbicide from coming in contact with their leaves.
- While Mike is covering the landscape plants, Danny is already one-third of the way finished. (Some time could have been saved for Mike by using a pre-mixed herbicide; however, the area that he will be spraying is so big, it would have cost a fortune. Most ready-to-use herbicides cost much more than concentrates.)
- Mike is ready to spray. He uses a steady back-and-forth motion to ensure uniform coverage and walks backwards as he sprays so his feet don't come in contact with the herbicide. When Mike is finished spraying, he has to rinse out the sprayer at least three times to make sure no residues of the herbicide remain in the tank, rinse his coveralls and equipment, and put everything away.
- Danny is finished on his side, and all he had to do was put his tools away. But Mike is not finished; depending on the type of herbicide he used, he may have to wait two to 10 days before planting anything, because of contamination. While Danny's bed is ready to plant, Mike's bed has to wait.
- From start to finish, it actually took Danny less time to weed the old-fashioned way. In the process, he burned several hundred calories, and used practically every muscle in his body. He did this all without the use of chemicals.
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