How to keep weeds out of your garden

Pulling

Yank weeds while they are still young and tender and the roots are not fully developed. This is easiest and most effective after a rain, when the soil is soft and the moisture increases the odds that you'll get the plant and its roots. Dry soil is hard, and it's far more likely that you won't get the root when you pull the weed. Above all, pull the weed before it starts to flower and goes to seed.

In some cases, you may need to dig out a weed with a weeding fork or an old screwdriver. But be careful: This is an easy way to slice off root particles or plant pieces that grow into more weeds.

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Cultivation

Stirring the soil vigorously inhibits a weed's growth by chopping through it, or killing it by exposing the roots to drying. Again, know your weed. You can kill some weeds with a single chop from a hoe, but if you break up its tuberlike root in an effort to pull it, each piece will produce a separate plant.

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Mulch

Mulch is good stuff. It holds in soil moisture and shades the soil to prevent germination of weed seeds. Its porous nature makes it easy to pull weeds that spring up through it. There's a downside, though. Some mulches, such as free wood chips that cities and towns often provide, can be polluted with weed seeds. If you buy hay or straw, ask if it's free of noxious seeds; some states have programs in place to certify that the straw is clean. It pays to ask the supplier or your state's cooperative extension office, which may list suppliers of these certified mulches.

In other cases, wood-chip mulch can cause fungi to flourish. Artillery fungus, also called shotgun fungus, will shoot spores toward your house or other light-reflecting surfaces, such as your car.

Not all mulches are appropriate for all plants or all locations. There isn't a universal mulch. Large pine-bark chips do a good job at suppressing weeds, but they're a poor choice for windy locations because they can blow out of a bed and fly all over the lawn.

If you do use mulch to help keep weeds at bay, remember that any mulch can mat down and form a crust that prevents rain from soaking in; fluff the mulch with a rake or a fork to prevent this. This also speeds the mulch's decomposition, improving soil in the process.

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Herbicides

There are two broad types, pre-emergent and post-emergent. The first type prevents weed germination; the second attacks the weed by either killing the plant directly or by getting into the plant's system, preventing photosynthesis, root formation and cell division. When you buy a herbicide, check the label to be sure it's the right type for what you want to kill. In most cases, a herbicide will kill the weeds it's rated to kill. If yours doesn't work, there are a few common explanations: The herbicide could have been mixed or applied improperly, or rain or sprinkler action could have washed the herbicide off the plant and diluted it. Sometimes a plant is too large for the herbicide to act effectively. Check with a garden center, cooperative extension agent or the manufacturer to find out whether adding an adjuvant to the herbicide will help. An adjuvant, sometimes called spreader sticker, is an additive designed to help the herbicide stick to the plant.

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