Dealing with weeds

What to do

• Mulch borders with an 8cm (3in) layer of bark mulch to prevent weeds from colonising.
• Cover large areas of bare soil with plastic, landscape fabric or an old roll of carpet to prevent weeds from germinating in spring.
• Removing annual weeds in the border by hand pulling or hoeing.
• Lever up perennial weeds from the border with a hand fork or special weeding tool. Ensure every piece of root is removed.
• Scrape weeds or moss from between gaps in paving with an old knife.
• Use a daisy grubber to removing shallow rooted, rosette forming weeds from the lawn.
• Paint stubborn rosette forming lawn weeds with a herbicide gel.
• Tackle coarse grasses growing in the lawn by slashing through the crown with a knife before mowing.
• Before mowing lawns containing weeds with long runners, rake the stems to the surface. Regular mowing will eventually weaken and kill the weed.
• Lawns that are smothered with weeds and moss are best treated with a weed and feed product.
• Pull weeds from pots and fill gaps with new compost.