Q: I’m overwhelmed with weeds in my shrub and flower beds. Where do I start?
A: Good rainfall and moderate days have produced an abundance of weeds. You will have to tackle them on many fronts, and your own style of weeding will determine how to proceed.
Organic gardeners depend on hand weeding. To start, get a handheld, sharp-bladed weeder and soft knee pads or kneeler. You can chop or pull the big ones and slice away the smaller ones. Be careful not to cut into the ground and damage the roots of the plants in your bed. If your fingers are delicate, a good trick to protect them is to use wide, snubnose pliers to pull hard-rooted weeds straight up out the ground. Grasp and pull up.
When the weeds are gone, cover the soil with newspapers or landscape fabric and cover with a 2-inch mulch. This barrier can prevent annual seeds from germinating, and it may hold back the roots of perennial weeds. Check the beds for escapees and remove them by hand. You may have to use your weeder to remove surface-rooted weeds that germinate in the mulch, but they are easy to get out.
If you want to eliminate new annual seedling weeds with chemicals, you can use a product that prevents seeds from germinating. After you remove the existing weeds, sprinkle the product on the soil. These products often include a fertilizer and are called “weed and feed.” However, remember that these inhibitors will prevent your flowers from self-sowing, so don’t expect volunteer perennials or annuals to appear.