My grandmother’s garden was her pride and joy. Nestled behind a small cottage, it overflowed with tomatoes, marigolds, zucchinis, herbs, and roses. And not a single weed in sight. It wasn’t just beautiful—it was low-maintenance. While her neighbors complained about sore backs and crabgrass, she’d sip tea under the shade of her fig tree and smile. She had cracked the code.
The magic? She never weeded. Not in the way most of us do. No back-breaking labor. No store-bought weed killers. Just two words: preventive mulching.
Before planting anything in the spring, Grandma would always say:
“Feed the soil, protect the roots, starve the weeds.”
She used natural mulch—grass clippings, straw, bark, or even shredded newspaper—to blanket the soil around her plants. This protective layer had multiple benefits:
She applied it thick: at least 3 inches deep. And where she didn’t grow vegetables or flowers, she laid old cardboard boxes under the mulch to act as a second line of defense against weeds.
It was the kind of quiet genius only years of gardening could teach.
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