When it comes to maintaining your garden and keeping it looking beautiful, pulling weeds is a necessary measure. As soon as you have a couple weeds, it is very easy for them to multiply and potentially takeover your garden. Weeds not only make your garden unattractive, but they also compete and hog water, and nutrients from your other flowers, plants, and lawn.

There are several reasons why weeds sprout up in gardens. One reason is that when the weed is pulled, the entire root system is not fully removed. If you grab a weed by the stem and pull, sometimes you can pull all of the roots out in one pull. Other times, when the plant is pulled it will break from the roots, therefore leaving the roots still in the ground. If you face this problem, have a garden spade or garden hoe handy in order to pry up the last remaining roots. You must remove the entire roots for the weed to stop growing in its place. Another reason why weeds are common is the location. Your garden might be near a heavily wooded area, or non-landscaped areas that contain thousands of weeds. The flower seeds from these weeds are swept up by the wind and birds, and are dispersed into residential lawns.

The best time for eliminating weeds is when the soil is moist, damp soils are loose and make it much easier to remove weeds and their roots. If you live in an arid or dry area, a recommendation would be to water down your lawn at night, that way the soil has time to soak up all the water. Also, the best way, although it is a pain, is pulling weeds by hand. Make sure to have a pair of garden gloves when pulling weeds. Dandelions are known to have deeper roots, making them more stubborn to completely remove. In these situations, have a garden hoe with you so you can dig and loosen up the soil. It may require you to dig deeper, and try pulling the roots several chances, until you pull the entire root out successfully.

For cases when weeds have taken over your lawn, and there are simply too many to pull, try a weed prevention chemical product. These weed killer chemicals are only to be used as a last resort, since they are not so environmentally friendly if used in excess. The procedure is usually the same when spraying weed killer, you spray the solution directly onto the weed. Results are typically seen in the next day or few days. You can also purchase weed prevention granules that avoid weeds from going temporarily. To apply the weed prevention granules, you disperse them around your lawn, plants, and bushes.

Weeds are not your friends, and it’s best to pluck them up whenever you see one sprout up in your garden. Maintaining your garden is important not only for you, but also is a courtesy to your neighbors and your neighborhood.