From the day that you first realised you enjoyed gardening until today, whether that has meant you have been tending a small garden, or have gone on to larger landscaping projects, there will be one task that you share with every other gardener on the planet. That task is weeding, and no matter how large or how small a garden is, and whether it is landscaped or not, weeds can appear at any time.
Although it is part and parcel of every garden, it does seem to be one of the things that many gardeners hate to do, and it is also the source of more complaints by gardeners than any other. Look on any gardening forum or Facebook group and you will see countless posts about those ‘XXXX weeds’. You can add your own favourite expletive where the ‘Xs’ are
Why weeds would cause so many negative thoughts and words from gardeners only each of them will know themselves. Our guess would be is that it may seem to some like something that never gets completed. as no matter how many weeds are removed, there always seems to be some more that come along to take their place.
So, whether you hate weeding, or if it seems more difficult than it should be, here some quick tips to make the weeding that you do in your garden more effective, and the results more prolonged.
#1 Know The Weeds You Have
Not every weed is benign to humans and some of them can be positively nasty if you touch them. Others serve as the habitat for certain species of insect that have a positive impact on your garden. So, before you go ripping up every weed you see, make sure you are able to identify those weeds which you definitely want rid of and those which, unless they are actually causing any harm to your plants, can be left alone.
#2 Protect Yourself
We have just mentioned that some weeds are nasty to humans, and this includes those that sting, whilst others might have thorns, so it goes without saying that you should be wearing gloves when you are weeding your garden. We would also recommend that you wear protective eyewear just in case you get a small bit of grit or dirt in your eye whilst you are removing weeds by hand.
#3 Use The Right Tools
There are as many different types and makes of weeding tools as there are weeds so to specify any single of one of them here is impossible. However, that does not mean that you should not look for them to have certain characteristics.
First, you want tools that feel comfortable in your hand, so try holding them in your hand before purchasing. For longevity, tools that are made from stainless steel and therefore not corrode, are preferable.
#4 Weed After It Has Rained, Or You Have Watered The Garden
When soil is wet, it is softer and wetter, therefore pulling up weeds by hand should be easier. If you live in an area with minimal rain, you should water any soil where you plan to do some weeding to create the same conditions.
#5 Off With Their Heads
That leads us to our final tip and that is, where it is really dry and hot if you cut off the heads of weeds instead of pulling the weed up completely, their roots are starved, the weed obviously dies, and the weed cannot reseed itself.
