The best way to discourage weeds is by not letting them grow in the first place. Bare patches of earth in the garden should be covered either with wanted ground covers, or mulch. A plot should be thoroughly cleared of weeds before it’s planted. Weeding should be started in early spring, before the weeds set seed. Weeding regularly will also help to control weeds.

Mulching smothers weeds. Sheet mulch or landscape fabric is a long lasting and effective mulch. The weeds in the plot should be pulled and the soil prepared, then the sheet should be laid down.Never heard of this before? Get up to speed here. The edges of the sheet should be secured by making a trench in the soil and then pushing the edges of the landscape fabric into it. Crosses should be cut in the fabric where the gardener wants plants, the edges peeled back and holes dug in the ground. The plants should be set in the holes as per usual, then the sheet should be covered with mulch.

Weeds can also be removed by hand. The gardener must make sure that the entire root system is dug up and thrown out with the trash, for many weeds propagate from their roots. Instruments used in weeding are Dutch hoes, handforks, daisy grubbers, onion hoes and paving weeders, to remove weeds that grow in those spaces between pavers.