Gardener warned against using common herbicide to control weeds in yard: 'I don't understand how this stuff is sold'

Many people enjoy gardening and reap the rewards of the work they put into their gardens and lawns. But gardening is not without its problems. A common issue that people encounter is how to deal with weeds.

One gardener asked the community in the r/landscaping subreddit for advice on killing weeds around a tree. "I was told Roundup would not damage trees when spraying for weeds," the Redditor posted. "… This feels like wrong [advice] to me."

The product in question is a common weed killer, but there's a lot of controversy around it since it can harm other plant life, and research has shown the herbicide in Roundup (glyphosate) may be linked to an increased risk of cancer in humans. Many countries have banned Roundup, according to an article on Consumer Notice.

"I don't understand how this stuff is sold," a Reddit user commented. "I won't touch the stuff."

Many others offered the advice of simply pulling the weeds since there weren't that many. Another option to explore if you're a gardener who is tired of dealing with weeds is to rewild your garden. This process involves installing native plants and allowing nature to take over.

Gardening offers many benefits. It's a great form of exercise and can relieve stress while boosting your mood. Rewilding your garden only adds to the list. A native garden is less expensive since it requires less water, fertilizer, and weed killer and also saves time on maintenance.

In addition to conserving water, native plants offer another advantage to the environment: They encourage and support wildlife. Pollinators are attracted to healthy native ecosystems, and happy pollinators help protect our food supply. 

Another option to explore that also delivers these benefits is a natural lawn such as clover or buffalo grass.

If rewilding isn't for you right now, there are other options for tackling weeds.

"That can be weeded with a scuffle hoe in less than 5 mins," one Reddit user responded. "Or use a weed torch."

Another Redditor commented: "Get a weed wacker. Best bang for the buck, just chew up whatever grows once every other week."

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