Every spring, when the temperatures stop dipping below the frost level at night. I know that it is time to prepare our garden for the planting. Harvesting fresh vegetables is exciting, a lot of work must be done before planting the seeds. There is three garden beds in my back yard, each bordered by scalloped red bricks. In early spring, however, the borders are hardly visible through the weeds that have growed happily all winter long.
Pulling weeds can be real challenging. You have to remove the entire weed, even the roots. Weeds like hairy vetch have weak spots at soil level, so even a strong tug only gets the top. A weak stem ensures there survival, especially in garden beds, it seems. Dandelions even more stubborn. Their taproots are thick and deep, which digging into the dirt with a trowel is usually necessary.
The best time to weed is after a long soaking rain. The ground would be moist and soft, and weeds often come out of the ground with much less effort than when the soil is dry. Hairy vetch dandelions and spider grass are easier to pull when the ground is wet; trying to pull these weeds out of the dry ground almost always results in a lost root.
All of the effort pays off, though, when the first peas or spring greens are ripe. Those first veggies taste so much better than store-bought produce! Keeping the weeds thinned out over the summer months the garden only needs a large-scale weeding once a year, in early spring.