You have three choices when fighting garden and yard weeds: pull, spray or starve. The most successful approach in most cases would be a combination.

Pulling is the most labor-intensive, often the most effective for a season (but this depends a lot on conditions), and the best for the environment. It's also good, mellow activity that allows us to calm down and feel at peace, unless we have a bad back or something else we'd rather be doing.

1: PULL
When pulling weeds, get the whole root, and try to get them before they seed. Moist earth or loose garden soil are easy conditions in which to pull weeds. If you've got drier, heavier soils, you may need a weeding tool. This is a short, handled, metal rod with a slightly pointed end, often with small flanges that resemble a tiny shovel. Press it straight down into the ground, just next to the base of the weed. This is really good with deeper weed roots (dandelions are the right shape, but a bit long for most of these, but other straight-rooted weeds come up pretty easily). Lever the weed root out of the ground, and be sure to bag any seeds or flowers you see.

Tip: If you're like me, you prefer weeding without gloves. Your eyes will tell you when you need them. Many weeds have tiny, hairlike spikes that can stick in your hand like a splinter. Gloves hamper your dexterity. Weigh the two, and when buying, pick gloves that are easy to put on and take off, so that you can adjust without it feeling like a waste of time.

2: SPRAY
Spraying herbicide often gets quick results, and often gets long-lasting results (weeks, a season, even a year). It's unhealthy for kids and pets (and gardeners), and often a hazard near a vegetable garden or other food-producing plants. Also, please make sure you do not add your herbicide to a river or stream, or to storm runoff. Very nasty stuff.

Whether you're happy with the miracles of modern chemistry or skeptical of poisons generally, you should probably talk to an experienced gardener or botanist when choosing your chemical treatment. A locally owned garden nursery is often a good place to ask for help. Some chains seem to attract as employees some pretty experienced people, but this is less true in gardening than in plumbing, in my experience. Find out from your local resources, friends, professionals who don't mind giving advice, a local government office or community college class which herbicides to choose for your job, how best to apply them, and when.

Sprayers

• 1
• 2
• next page >>

---

Add your voice

Know something about How you can choke weeds out of your garden?
We want to hear your view. Write now!