Alternatives to Round Up or any Other Chemicals (for large and small areas)

Want to avoid using chemicals, but still need to eliminate some foliage? We have you covered.

I’ll break it into two categories— Large and small areas. Large areas will be anything over half of an acre. Small will be less than half of an acre.

Small Areas

To eliminate foliage in small areas we recommend the smothering method, preferably a black tarp. Why? Because black tarps heat up… a lot. So not only will the plants not get any sunlight, they will be baking under the tarp. If possible, start around April time. Do a sequence of two months on (April and May), two months off (June and July), and two more months on (August and September). Then you can plant that fall. Simple!

There is another method though. You can till, and mow, and till, and mow, and till. We recommend three tillings and keeping the weeds that come up mowed down in between the tillings. The tilling will help destroy any grass. But be warned; there will many weed that come up due to their love of disturbed soil. So what do you do about these annual weeds (velvet leaf, Queen Anne’s Lace, Pigweed)? You keep them mowed down. When they get to your knee height, hit the weeds down to your ankles. You’ll do your tilling in May and September. You’ll need to do it three times, so if you till in May, then you’ll till in September, then the next May. And you’ll keep the weed mowed down in between these tillings. By the way, this is our least favorite alternative to herbicides and pesticides.

Large Areas (This can also work in small areas)

You can do the tilling thing… But again, it’s our least favorite option.

Our preferred method of killing foliage without using chemicals is a grazing and burning rotation. If you burn right before the grass/problematic weeds go to seed, you will damage them significantly. Usually this burns happens sometime in May to eliminate brome or Reed Canary Grass. Then as the plants are using the last of their energy to come back, you will graze it heavily. If you don’t have access to cattle, often you can rent goats or sheep from someone in your region. This should do huge damage on your existing vegetation allowing for you to plant that fall.

I hope this helps. For more information, here’s one of our podcasts where we discuss it. And here’s a YouTube video where Chad Graeve, a biologist specializing in prairie and native management, talks about it.