How to get rid of weeds

Content

Steps
Part 1 of 3: Preparing for Weeding
Part 2 of 3: Identifying, weakening and removing weeds
Part 3 of 3: Taking care of your own back while weeding
Tips
Warnings
What do you need

Gardeners weed the weeds almost daily. To prevent the growth of weeds, you can try mulching and covering materials. But even in this case, weeding of beds and flower beds cannot be avoided during the season. In order to weed, it is necessary to be able to distinguish weeds from cultivated plants, prudently soften the soil around the weeds, and only then pull out the weeds by the roots. To make this onerous activity less difficult, you can put on good garden gloves and use a weed remover with a long or short handle, as well as other accessories, such as a small stool or knee pads. The right tools and the right approach will make your weeding job less grueling than it might seem.

Steps

Part 1 of 3: Preparing for Weeding

1 Choose the right time to work. Weeds are noticeably easier to weed when the ground is wet, so it is easier to do this job soon after rain. It is usually best to weed the weeds the day after a good rainstorm.
2 Find gardening gloves. Look for gardening gloves that have a wrist-restraint, such as a Velcro fastener. In general, gardening gloves should be comfortable and durable enough.
- Use any gardening gloves you can find in your barn. Any kind of gloves will work for weeding, but it is preferable to use ones with clasps on the wrist.
- Buy new gardening gloves from your garden supply store if needed. Find the right size for you with a few extras, including reinforced fingertips, double-stitching, and wrist closures.
- If you're looking for rough or thorny weeds like thistles, buy gloves made of leather or other thick material.
3 Prepare your weeding equipment. If you want to keep your hands clean or need to weed a particularly difficult area (such as heavily weedy areas or areas with firm soil), it is best to use a weeding tool such as a root remover. They will save you some effort on your own, as hand weeding can be extremely exhausting. Go to the barn and pick up the inventory you need for weeding. If you are going to weed densely overgrown ground and will be working on your knees, then you will need a root remover with a short handle. If you have a large area to weed and want to do all the work while standing, you will need a long-handled root remover. If you do not have the right weeding tool, it may be wise to visit your nearest garden supply store to purchase what you need.
- If you are buying a new tool, you will probably want to check how well it is sharpened, whether it is made from good materials (for example, if it has a stainless steel blade), and how well it is suited for the weeding tasks that are specific to your garden. It will also be necessary to evaluate the comfort of the tool grip.
- The Japanese garden scoop knife is a short-handled tool that can be used to cut and cut the roots of stubborn weeds.
- The Root Hook is another type of short-handled tool that is good for weeding in densely overgrown areas of the garden.
- The radial root cultivator has a long handle that rotates in a circle and is great for people with arthritis or other wrist problems.
- Also, there are tools such as weed burners that allow you to destroy them permanently. They emit a flame that bakes the weeds and thereby kills them, as they are deprived of the ability to consume nutrients.
4 Protect yourself from sun exposure. Before work, you must put on a hat on your head and use sunscreen lotion. Weed weeding is a grueling job that often takes place in direct sunlight, so you need to protect your face, neck and other exposed parts of the body from adverse effects.
- Use a sunscreen with an SPF of 15 or higher. If you have pale skin, then you need to use a sunscreen with protection not lower than SPF 30. The number indicating the degree of protection indicates how well the product helps to protect the skin from sunburn.
- Opt for a sunscreen that is moisture resistant to water and sweat. Weeding is hard work that literally requires a sweat, so sunscreen must remain effective throughout.
- If you are weeding in a greenhouse or at home, you can skip this step.
5 Prepare yourself a bottle of drinking water. You need to keep hydrating your body while weeding, so make yourself one or two bottles of drinking water. To ensure that the water balance is not affected, the water should be drunk before, during and after weeding. Keeping hydrated will help you protect yourself from heatstroke due to prolonged exposure to the sun.
6 Remove potential hazards from the treated area. If there are abandoned irrigation hoses lying on the ground somewhere, move them aside to avoid accidentally tripping over them while weeding. If there are pitchforks on the ground, remove them too so you don't run into them. Eliminate any such hazards so that you can safely weed.
- If nettles grow somewhere in your area, note this for yourself so as not to accidentally burn yourself.
- If in your area there are frequent encounters with poisonous snakes, first inspect the garden area to avoid trouble. On hot days, snakes can take shelter in cool, shady places. In general, snakes are usually attracted to any secluded place where there is shade and moisture.
- Make sure you know exactly where the first aid kit is located in your garden or home so that you can treat the wound if you scratch or cut yourself while weeding. While weeding is usually a fairly safe activity, it is a good idea to prepare for emergencies just in case.

Part 2 of 3: Identifying, weakening and removing weeds

1 Identify the weeds you intend to weed out. Examine the area of the flower bed or garden bed and identify those areas that require weeding. As you look, look out for edible weeds that you might want to keep for later use, such as dandelions, amaranth, plantain, or gauze. When you have already decided what exactly you want to weed out and what to leave, start weeding.
- Consider if you would like to collect edible weeds for consumption later.Many edible plants, often considered weeds, make great additions to salads, fried foods, and soups. You may not have planted these plants yourself, but they may still be quite desirable. Pull them out, put them in a jar and store in the refrigerator.
2 Kneel down or stand directly over the weed you want to pull out. If you are using the short-handled root remover or simply with your hands, get down on your knees and get ready to pull the weed out. If you are using a long-handled root remover, you can stand directly over the weed you will be removing.
- Be careful when kneeling down. Do not do this on concrete or rocky surfaces without using a protective mat or cushion.
3 Soften the soil where the weed stem enters the soil. If you are working in wet soil, softening it will be easy. If the soil is dry, then it will be more difficult to loosen it. Poke around the weed with a root remover to break up large lumps of soil. Gradually loosen the soil around the weed to give hands or root stripper easy access to the weed root.
4 Grasp the tap or main root of the weed with your hand (or pick it up with a root remover). It is important to grasp the root as confidently as possible in order to pull it out completely, otherwise the weed will simply grow back.
5 Pull the weed out. Simply pull the weed out of the ground with your hand or with a root remover. Whether to use your hands or a tool is a matter of personal preference. For example, some people prefer to wear garden gloves and use a root remover at the same time to keep their hands clean. However, some gardeners just enjoy tinkering in the ground and don't mind getting their hands dirty. Grasp the base of the weed securely and pull it abruptly out of the soil. Try to pull the entire root straight up, not at an angle, so you don't have to pull it out in parts. Repeat the above steps until you have removed the weeds from your entire garden.
- If you are unable to completely remove the root of the weed, you can use the root remover to dig deeper into the remnants of the root and pull out.
- If you are having difficulty extracting the taproot, you can use a root remover to prune the weed root at a deeper level.
6 Collect the plucked weeds and discard them. If you have a compost heap, the weeds can be thrown into it. Over-matured compost can be used within a year. If you are not collecting compost, the weeds you have pulled up can simply be thrown into the trash.
- If you are composting weeds, do not put in the compost pile those weeds that can easily take root in the compost. It is better to throw such plants into the trash immediately.
- Do not dump weeds in inappropriate public places. Many weeds are invasive plants and can damage parks and protected areas if they spread.

Part 3 of 3: Taking care of your own back while weeding

1 Stretch before weeding. Stretch your muscles 15 minutes before weeding to get your muscles ready for work. Start with a side stretch to prepare your back and shoulder muscles, then stand up straight and bend forward to stretch your chest, legs, back, and shoulders. You can complete the stretch with the reclining yoga goddess pose to prepare your thigh muscles for work.
- Side stretch is good for your back and shoulder muscles. Stand straight, keep your legs together and bend them slightly at the knees, place your left hand on your hip, and extend your right hand up. Lean to the left while maintaining correct posture. Then repeat the stretch for the other side.
- To do a forward bend stretch, place your hands behind your back and interlock them with your fingers, and then bend forward to your knees. Relax your neck and shoulders while doing this.
- To assume the pose of the reclining goddess, lie on the floor, bend your knees and bring your feet together. Next, lower your knees themselves to the floor. At the same time, you can raise your arms above your head and join your palms.
2 For weeding, sit in such a way that your bent knees are parallel to each other, and one of your legs protrudes a little further forward. Keep your back straight. Your feet should be straight in front of you and parallel to each other. Try to concentrate all your weight on your lower body and straighten your back perfectly. This will help you relax, conserve your own energy, and avoid back pain.
- If you have sore knees or back, you may prefer to weed on a small stool or chair.
3 Be sure to keep your back straight when weeding while standing. If you are using the long-handled root remover and are working while standing, it is best to bend over your hips rather than your back. This will help you avoid back pain and save energy while weeding.
4 Set up raised beds and flower beds to avoid back pain when weeding them. If weeding and other day-to-day gardening is causing you severe back pain, consider setting up raised beds and flower beds. This will make the ground surface to be cultivated higher and you will not need to lean so much towards it while weeding.
- Make raised beds yourself. Use logs, bricks, wood, sandbags, sawdust, or other materials for this. If you are not inclined to build your own raised bed fence, try looking for ready-made sets of such fences at garden supply stores.
5 Buy ergonomic gardening accessories to relieve back pain. You might want to buy knee pads or a weeding stool to make your day to day gardening easier.
- A wide variety of accessories are available to provide the grower with a comfortable support during the weeding process, including knee pads, benches, seats, and a combination of both. Choose among them what is best for you in terms of convenience and price. Typically, the price of these accessories ranges from several hundred to a thousand rubles.

Tips

Try to pull out weeds early on in their development to keep them from scattering and make it easier for you.
Do not pull off only the top of the weeds, as the roots left in the soil will become a source of new weeds.
In very heavily weedy areas, you may find it easier to use a shovel or pitchfork to remove all the vegetation and then simply sow the crops you want.
Instead of trying to weed everything all at once, do it gradually, but regularly, not allowing the weeds to develop into mature plants.