Weed killer on garden - how to fix it

by Diana Thompson
(Puyallup, WA)

My husband put weed killer on my raised garden beds, now nothing will grow. Is there any way to fix it?

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Megan answers...

Weed killer on garden by mistake

Oh dear, not the best thing to happen to a garden. Get rid of the weed killer anyway (not hubby, but the bottle of stuff), unless it's organic. We're getting rather overloaded with chemicals in the environment.

First read the instructions and see what it says about how long it lasts and what the active ingredients are. It could be that it was a systemic weed killer, in which case plants take it up through their roots or leaves and die, or it could be a contact week killer, which kills only the bits of plant that the solution touches.

Also weed killers can then be classified into broadleaf or grass type products, or both.

That's a very rough idea of these products, so how to fix?

If granules were used, of course the best thing to do is remove the top layer and replace with clean soil, but if it was a liquid solution then you will have to remove a deeper layer, down at least as far as plants roots go.

Or, wait until the weed killer has dissipated, or lost its effectiveness by the next season's plantings. It may be you can plant plants within a week or so, but not sow seeds? Here again read the label and see how long it lasts and what it affects.

Post back here if we can help further.