Overcoming Gardening Woes: Tackling Weeds, Bugs, and Fertilizer Fears

Gardening is all fun and games... until the bugs and weeds show up.

Suddenly, you want to burn the garden down, throw your hands in the air, and walk away. I get it—there’s nothing worse than spending weeks caring for your precious plants just to have a Japanese beetle chomp down and wreck all the leaves.

This blog will help you tackle:

How to stay ahead of weeds
The good and bad bugs in your garden
Fertilizer: when, what, and how much?

Let’s dig in!

Weeds: The Never-Ending Battle

Get ‘Em While They’re Small

Tiny, barely visible weeds are way easier to handle than full-grown monsters. Cultivating soil early prevents future headaches.
Make a gardening routine—you can weed in one go or spread it out over the week.
I like to make one day a “weeding day” early in the season, then space it out when the heat kicks in because weeding in 90-degree weather? No, thanks.

The June Weed Explosion

June is the worst for weeds—lots of rain, small plants, and chaos.
Planting close together helps—your flowers will shade out weeds naturally as they grow.
Invest in good tools: I use a mix of stirrup hoes, Japanese hand hoes, and cultivators, depending on the size of the weeds.

Mulch: Your Best Friend

Mulching keeps weeds at bay AND improves your soil! Some great options:
- Leaf mulch (broken-down leaves)
- Straw
- Compost
I tried weed fabric once—never again! Crabgrass grew underneath and found the holes, making it impossible to remove.
If you mulch, you can’t cultivate, but the trade-off is soft soil where weeds pull out like butter.

To Spray or Not to Spray?

I use sprays sparingly—sometimes, it’s the only option for nightmare weeds like bindweed and dock.
If you’re converting a lawn into a garden, you may be spared the worst offenders.

Key Takeaways:

✔ Get weeds early before they take root.
✔ Cover the ground with mulch or whatever works best for you.
✔ If needed, use spray sparingly for those impossible-to-kill weeds.

Bugs: The Battle Continues

Healthy Plants Repel Bugs

Believe it or not, healthy soil = fewer pests!
Plants with higher sugar content (from good soil) naturally repel insects.
This year, I’m experimenting with a molasses spray to boost sugar levels—I’ll report back on results!

Fighting Japanese Beetles

These little devils love roses and cut flowers. My strategy:
- Traps (if you have a big property, put them far from the garden).
- Morning hand-picking—drop them into a cup of soapy water.
- Milky spore or GrubEx in the fall—kills beetle larvae in the soil.
- Unfortunately, I haven’t found an insecticide that really works.

Encouraging Good Bugs

Ladybugs, spiders, wasps—these guys are gold for pest control!
It takes time, but building an ecosystem of beneficial bugs pays off.
Plant diversity helps—more flowers = more good bugs = fewer bad ones.

Sprays & Powders

These work but need constant reapplying.
I’m not above using them if it means saving an important crop.

Key Takeaways:

✔ Healthy soil = fewer pests.
✔ Japanese beetles? Use traps, hand-picking, and milky spore.
✔ Encourage good bugs—plant a variety of flowers!

Fertilizer Fears: How Much, How Often?

Do You Even Need Fertilizer?

If your soil is healthy and full of organic matter, you may not need much.
Compost and mulch help naturally build up nutrients over time.

My Lazy—Ahem, Efficient—Approach

I use a slow-release, all-purpose granular fertilizer when planting and leave it at that.
The exception? Dahlias. They are divas and need extra feeding.
Otherwise, I only fertilize if plants look like they need a boost.

Other Fertilizer Options

Foliar sprays (sprayed on leaves, done monthly)
Compost tea (liquid gold for plants)
Store-bought fertilizers (use sparingly—less is more!)

Key Takeaways:

✔ Does your soil even need fertilizer? Start there.
✔ Decide if you want a one-time application or ongoing feeding.
✔ Don’t overdo it—too much fertilizer can do more harm than good.

Final Thoughts

Weeds, bugs, and fertilizer fears are some of the biggest struggles for gardeners. But here’s the truth:

Most of the time, companies just want you to buy their products.
Simple methods often work best.
A little patience goes a long way in building a thriving garden ecosystem.

If you want to learn more about creating a balanced garden, I highly recommend Vegetables Love Flowers by Lisa Mason Ziegler—it’s easy to read, full of great advice, and totally changed how I garden.

Got any tried-and-true remedies or questions? Drop a comment below—I’d love to keep the conversation going!

Overcoming Gardening Woes: Tackling Weeds, Bugs, and Fertilizer Fears