GOLDEN VALLEY, Minn. - Weeds are a plenty again in many yards and garden beds. If they bug you as much as they bug me you might want a few tips.
Weed often
For short periods of time, breaking one large job into a series of small-sized tasks makes any unpleasant chore seem easier and less intimidating.
Weed early in the season
If you focus most of your weeding efforts early in the season you'll find yourself having to weed less later on. After planting, remove weeds as soon as you see them. As your plants mature, their leaves will start to cast a shadow on the soil making it more difficult for emerging weeds to take hold.
Remove the roots, reduce the work
If new weeds continue to emerge in the same exact spot you're weeding week after week, make sure you're not leaving the roots behind.
Weed when it's wet
Weeds are much easier to pull when the ground is wet.
Use weed preventives
A Preen product, for example. I like the one that is organic because I have a dog. If you want to save money just buy corn gluten at a feed store, which is the only ingredient in organic Preen. Preen works when you weed the area, it will not kill existing weeds. Spread it and water it down and don't step back over the area that you treated. This will make a "shield" on the mulch and not allow future weeds to grow.