There has been plenty in the news in last few years on the harm that the popular glyphosate type weed killers are harmful to you and your pet’s health. While short term exposure isn’t much to worry about, experts say it less toxic that table salt, its long-term risks are a concern. Scientists are divided on how much risk is involved with reports showing conflicting results and most of those are studying the effects on animals, not humans.

However why use something that people aren’t sure on when there are plenty of other organic and harmless options out there. Some are easier than other and some will even help you to feed your veggies with the nitrogen rich matter once properly broken down. The best thing to remember is to get on top of it before they flower and go to seed. Most weeds have their seeds carried on the wind, but if you don’t allow them to get to that stage, you will cut the cycle.

• Pull them out by hand. This can quickly become tedious and exhausting, but if done regularly and you keep on top of it, you will fast cut down on numbers. Simply plucking a few as you go around and water each day will dramatically reduce their occurrence. An added bonus is that you can add any that aren’t going to seed to your compost and soak anything unsuitable, such as oxalis, kikuyu and couch grass, in a bucket of water. Give them a few weeks to break down and then strain over your plants to give them a natural fertiliser.

• Boiling water. Weeds with deep roots can be a pain to pull so burn them to death with boiling water.

• Salt and vinegar. Mix one cup of salt with vinegar and brush directly onto unwanted weeds. Don’t pour it over though as high salt levels will stay in your soil and prevent anything from growing in the future. It isn’t selective so be careful to brush it only onto what you want to kill.

• Sheet solarisation. Cover big patches of weeds or areas of grass you want to kill with a large sheet of black plastic. Weigh down the edges so it wont blow around in the wind and leave it sit for around 8 weeks to cook in the sun. The weeds nutrients will be added back into the soil automatically and seeds will be burnt too.

• Sheet composting/ mulching. Water the are you want to exterminate weeds from, lay over newspaper about 6 sheets thick, ensuring they overlap well. Put a 10cm layer of organic matter and sprinkle with blood and bone to help it all break down before watering it again. Leave it sit for at least 6 months and you will have a ready made area ready to plant.