How to Weed Your Garden (A Full Step List)

How to Weed Your Garden

• Identify weeds in your garden space
• Remove weeds by hand, tool, or herbicide
• Grasp firmly at the base of the weed and pull upward
• Be sure to get all the roots to fully remove the weed
• Cover the weeded ground with mulch to deter more weeds

For best results in trying to weed your garden, a mix of all the methods will be needed to stay on top of the weeds. No single method will work. 

Weeding by Hand

The most traditional way of weeding is weeding by hand. For instance, small weeds that have not matured can be removed by wearing garden gloves and pulling at the base of the weeds.

Weeding by hand is also the cheapest option of pulling weeds as it only requires labor from the person doing the weeding. In addition, weeding by hand will cause minimal disruption to the ground surface. This will help prevent weed seeds from germinating after being buried deeper in the soil.

Smothering Weeds

To smother weeds, simply cover them with cardboard, garden plastic, or landscape fabric for a period of time to allow the weeds to be deprived of sunlight and die. Be aware that anything that gets covered will also be eliminated. If trying to de-weed a space for a vegetable garden, it is not recommended to use garden plastic or landscape fabric as they will need to be replaced or removed to make soil amendments.

By smothering weeds, you can prevent weeds, grass, or native plants from coming back in these areas. The landscape fabric or cardboard can be left in place to slowly decompose, but garden plastic will need to be removed as it will not degrade. 

Digging Weeds Up with Tools

Commonly, weeds are dug up with tools such as gardening hoes, trowels, and gardening knives. For mature weeds that are woody or large in size, using a trowel, or hoe will make removing the weed easier. In addition, for garden spaces that are flat and low to the ground, using a garden hoe can ease the labor of the person doing the weeding. 

For instance, using a tool will cause more of the soil will be turned, therefore causing more weed seed to surface.

Spraying Herbicide

Herbicide, or weed killer, should always be used with caution. Follow the instructions on the chemical label and do not spray on a windy day. If you must use herbicide on plants on a windy day, take a paint brush and apply herbicide to leaves directly via the paintbrush. Note that there are several types of herbicides on the market. Talk with your local nursery for suggestions based on the weeds you are trying to control. 

In addition, there are more natural ways of using a topical treatment, other than herbicides, including boiling water, or applying soapy water. You can pour boiling water directly onto a weed in hopes of killing it. However, multiple attempts with boiling water may be needed for large or mature weeds. 

How do I Know What a Weed is?

A weed can be any plant that you do not want to grow in your garden space. However, there are several weeds that are common in Texas that you can look out for. 

Knowing your weeds will help determine if they are beneficial or harmful to your space. However, if there is a plant that does not look like the plant you planted, consider it a weed and remove it. Do not be afraid to pull plants that are unwanted in your garden. For instance, a plant in a vegetable garden bed that you did not plant, will take the nutrients and resources of the vegetables you are growing. This plant will need to be removed to provide optimal resources to your vegetable garden.

What is the Best Time of Day to Weed?

In general, weeding should be done in the early morning, or late evening when the soil is looser with moisture. However, watering the ground you are about to pull weeds from will mimic the moist soil that is desired.

Spring and summer are the most common times to remove weeds as they are more visible than in colder months. Be sure to remove the unwanted weeds before they seed to produce more weeds. For instance, the transition of summer to fall is when the seeds are likely to drop.

It is recommended to do a little weeding every day to maintain a manageable garden. 

What Tools do I Need to Weed?

There are several tools on the market that benefit weeding a garden. Short-handled tools include Hori Hori or garden knives, sickles, a dandelion weeder, or a small trowel. Long-handled tools include bladed hoes, stirrup hoes, rakes, power trimmers, and garden torches.

In place of tools, weeding can be done by hand or with an herbicide. 

Perennial vs Annual vs Biennial Weeds

Perennial weeds are plants that come back year after year. Annual weeds are plants that grow until maturity, produce seed, and then die. Biennial weeds live for two years and then seed. 

To manage perennial and biennial weeds, you must remove the roots of the plant before it goes to seed. For annual weeds, cutting them with clippers, string trimmers, or other lawn equipment before they seed will remove these weeds.

Annual Weeds	Perennial Weeds	Biennial Weeds
Chickweed Crabrgrass Knotweed Lambs-Quarters Pigweed Purple Deadnettle Spurge Groundsel	Dallisgrass Wild Violet Clover Dandelion Pokeweed Ground Ivy Nutsedge	Queen Anne’s Lace (Wild Carrot) Primrose Burdock Thistle

How Can I Treat the Dirt for Weeds?

There are multiple methods to treating dirt for weeds, from herbicides to soil solarization, each method will deter weeds in the long term.

Herbicides are selective and non-selective. Each type has a specific purpose depending on which variety you purchase. Selective herbicides target specific plants and are chemically made up to reduce harm to other plants not specified on the label. Non-selective herbicides will kill all plants that it is sprayed with. It is recommended that you contact your local nursery to determine which herbicide is best suited for your needs. 

Other methods to treat dirt for weeds is to perform soil solarization. Soil solarization is removing all plant matter from the designated area until only the soil remains, and then placing clear polyethylene plastic on top. This article by the Spruce has a detailed explanation of how to perform soil solarization. https://www.thespruce.com/soil-solarization-method-for-killing-weeds-2132941

Do the Weed Chemicals Kill the Plants I Want to Keep?

Most herbicides contain an active ingredient called glyphosate, a compound that inhibits the plants enzyme from completing photosynthesis. Therefore, weed chemicals may be targeted to weeds but may kill the plants you want to keep. 

Which Weeds are Poisonous to Humans or Dangerous to Touch?

Atropa Belladonna – known as deadly nightshade. If consumed can be fatal, if leaves are touched can cause blisters.

Hogweed – a white flowering plant that can cause skin irritation, and blistering.

Poison Oak – dark green leaves in clusters of three. Can appear as a shrub or climbing vine. If leaves are touched, can cause dermatitis and intense itching. 

Poison Sumac – thin, serrated leaves that if touched can cause rashes, oozing blisters and mucous membrane irritation. 

Poison Ivy – a light green three leaf vine that if touched can cause dermatitis, severe itching, and blistering. 

Stinging Nettle – leaves covered in tiny hairs, if touched will cause skin irritation and rash. 

Are Some Weeds Good for a Garden?

Broadleaf plantain, chickweed, lamb’s quarters, white clover, and dandelions are all beneficial weeds for your garden. All of these weeds benefit the soil by bringing phosphorus, calcium, potassium, and other minerals to the surface to help support other plants. 

Weeds also help protect soil and can condition the soil with their decaying roots. 

Do weeds attract pests or helpers?

Flowering weeds attract helpers or beneficial insects like pollinators, lady bugs, pirate bugs and parasitoid wasps and lacewings. However, some weeds may attract pests such as grasshoppers, earwigs, and other various beetles.

Overall, weeds will support a growing environment for animals, insects, and other plants. If allowed to seed, they will propagate readily.

Raised Bed vs. In-Ground Garden Weeds

When deciding to start your garden and are considering how you are going to weed it. The raised bed gardens are easier to maintain with weeds versus an in-ground garden. Raised beds are made of soil and amendments that are controlled and will have lower quantities of weed seed. In ground gardens contain weed seed that has been dispersed for years. In addition, it is easier on a person’s back to have a higher surface to weed from, versus getting on the ground to weed. 

Is Weeding Your Garden Therapy?

After a long day indoors, spending time outside is therapeutic. Some say that pulling weeds, or digging out weeds can be a form of therapy by taking out internal aggression on weeds that need to be pulled. Spending 20 minutes in the sun pulling weeds will grant you a weed free space and a dose of vitamin D from the sun.

Can I Eat Weeds?

Certain types of weeds are edible and have been foraged as food for generations. Dandelions, grass shoots, and others are fully edible. Watch this video by Sergei Boutenko to learn more about eating weeds. However, it is okay to just weed your garden and leave the eating to the animals.