How to Control Weeds

Taraxacum officinale

The most effective way to inhibit weeds is to plant something in their place. Weeds will grow on any open ground. But most weed seeds will not sprout on densely shaded ground. The best plants to shade the ground are groundcovers, shrubs & spreading perennials. Weeds are less of a problem in shade. But seeds will still sprout on lightly shaded open ground.

I don’t want to discourage you. But there will always be weeds. You must be vigilant: Pull weeds before they set seed! Weeds come from seeds. Plastic, rocks, gravel & bark will not keep weeds away forever. Weeds mostly seed in from above. Bark & other mulch will help to keep weeds under control for a time, while other plants have a chance to get established. Be sure you can distinguish weeds from the groundcovers you have planted.

To get rid of weeds that already exist, you should probably just pull them out. It will help if you loosen the soil with a garden fork, hoe or hook. Don’t be fooled into thinking that is the end of the weeds. There are undoubtedly still seeds in the ground. Keep watching for new weed sprouts.

Weeds with long, fleshy roots (like dandelion & bindweed) will grow back, if part of the root is left in the ground. This is also true for blackberry. It can be very difficult to get all of the roots of a blackberry vine. If it grows back, keep cutting it off at ground level. I don’t think that herbicide is any more effective than cutting.

Rototilling Weeds

Here is a question sent to me in June 2009 about rototilling weeds.

Question:
We're starting to get serious about landscaping our backyard. Time and money have been the main reasons we've been unable to since we moved in. Since we've moved in, the area has been taken over by weeds. I tried to work on removing them, but it's turning out to be a lot of back breaking work!!! I went to home depot and they notified me that rototilling it would be my best bet. but they mentioned to rototill the area, and then leave whatever's been tilled there, including the weeds. I understand that this will turn into a good compost for the ground? If we have plans to eventually lay out patio blocks for a sitting area, should I keep the tillings there still? And for the areas that we'd like to just have rocks, or maybe bark, should we also leave them there? As you can tell, I'm pretty novice to this, so any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Answer:
It may take a while for you to control your weeds. You need to remove the roots from the area you have rototilled. Many weeds can regenerate from just a small piece of root. If the weeds have set & dispersed seeds, which they probably have, you will have many new weeds growing in the area. Rototilling will not destroy weed seeds, it will merely move them around. You will have to pull weeds, by 1 means or another, for 6 months or a year. Weeds do not make good compost because they are full of seeds.

If you lay out blocks for a patio, you will likely have weeds growing in the cracks. These will come both from seeds remaining from the rototilling & from new seeds blowing in from the surrounding area. Rototilled ground is loose & will settle. It is much better to lay paving materials on hard-packed earth. Otherwise, your blocks will sink over time, settling unevenly. It would be better to scrape off the top layer of soil with the weeds in it, or pull the weeds. If you have particularly pernicious weeds in your yard, like blackberry, don't pave over them. They have deep & extensive roots. They will definitely come up through the paving.

I'm sorry to tell you that weeding is forever, even in areas with bark or rocks, although bark does help for awhile. The best defense against weeds is to plant shrubs & groundcovers. Most weed seeds will not sprout on densely shaded ground.