If you love your garden, then you probably hate weeds -- but for many home gardeners, the thought of using potentially toxic chemical herbicides is also hard to embrace. Fortunately, residential weed control doesn't necessarily involve poisonous substances. Here are four non-toxic options you can employ in the ongoing fight against the Weed Empire.

1. Smart Planting and Cultivation Practices

You'll find that you can prevent some weeds from taking up residence simply by cultivating and planting intelligently. For instance, planting seeds in rows can leave gaps in the soil large enough for weeds to find a home and flourish, starving your prized flowers or crops in the process. Instead, try planting your seeds in a diamond formation, leaving just enough room between each seed for proper root formation and to give each plant access to sunlight. 

What if those weeds have already embedded their seeds deep in the ground? In that case, the last thing you want to do is stir them up and stimulate them into growth. Cultivate too deeply, and you'll turn that nightmare scenario into reality. Instead, employ the least invasive tilling and planting practices you can manage while still allowing for healthy root growth. You might even be able to plant certain varieties into a layer of compost or topsoil that sits above the ground where weed seeds lurk.

2. Hot Water

If you're overheated from your frantic efforts to keep weeds at bay, maybe it's time to return the favor by applying a little heat of your own to your nemesis. Simply boil some water in a kettle or microwave, take it out to the garden, and pour it in a tight focus over that stubborn weed that keeps growing back. Over the course of a few applications, the weed should cease making those return appearances for good. 

Steam is another way to weed-proof your garden using hot water. But you don't need to provide the water -- it's already inside the cells of the weed. A handheld device called a weed torch can superheat that cellular water so it will turn to steam, which causes the weed to wilt and die. Heat the torch, pass it briefly over the weeds, and then pinch the leaves with thumb and forefinger. If the pressure creates a "dent," then the leaf is dead -- and so is the weed.

3. Natural Herbicides

Not every substance that kills weeds has properties toxic to humans or pets. Many natural products can rid your ground of weeds without poisoning it. Salt is one such product. Just apply a small amount of salt to the base of each invading weed and watch the invader wither away. Rain will reduce the salt deposit to harmless levels eventually, but in the meantime be aware that it can kill your plants as easily as it can kill leaves, using it only in precise spots on an as-needed basis. 

Ordinary distilled vinegar is another non-toxic herbicide with toxic effects on your weeds. Like salt, vinegar will kill any plant it touches, so apply it with great care and precision.

4. The Barrier Method

One of the most effective steps for keeping weeds from growing is to cover the soil around the plants with some sort of barrier. This accomplishes two goals: It prevents stray weeds seeds from entering the soil in the first place, and it blocks essential sunlight from any seeds that may already be in the ground, making growth impossible. Potential barriers include:

• Mulch - Mulches made from just about any organic debris can help your garden thrive even as they keep weeds from developing.
• Newspaper - If you're done with that newspaper, don't throw it away; cut a slit in it so it can surround the roots of your growing plants while blocking sunlight for weeds.
• Plastic - Laying sheets of plastic over a moistened fallow garden bed can literally cook weeds before they can sprout (a process known as solarization).

These tricks should enable you to enjoy a beautiful, healthy garden without the unwelcome presence of weeds, an without the application of chemical herbicides. But it's worth noting that a professional residential weed control company has the skill, experience, and equipment to apply these herbicides (or non-toxic alternatives) without harming your beloved plants. It certainly beats long hours of weeding with your hands! Check out sites like http://snydersweedcontrol.com/ for more info.