Weed Control in Home Gardens - Mechanical Weed Control

Mechanical weed control:
Mechanical weed control involves removing weeds
while they are small and preventing them from producing
mature seed. It consists principally of mowing, ploughing,
rototilling, hoeing and hand pulling. These procedures
give immediate results and require little, if any, specialized
equipment. Their main disadvantage is that they work only
on growing weeds and may need to be repeated frequently.
Remove weeds while they are small because it is
quicker, easier and does less damage to desired vegetable
plants. Hoe or till shallowly (less than 2 inches deep) to
avoid damage to desirable plants and to minimize moisture
loss from the soil. The deeper the soil is disturbed, the
more weed seed will be brought to the surface where it will
grow. Most weed seed that germinate are in the upper 2
inches of soil. Weed seed may survive many, many years in
the soil. Each time it is worked, more seed is pulled to the
surface.
Gardeners often quit weeding as a crop matures. Weeds
do not affect crop yields as much at this stage. However,
they will still produce seed. A single weed of some species
can produce hundreds of thousands of seed. Weed removal
should continue until the vegetable crop is completely harvested.
While crops are not growing on the garden spot, the
soil may then be kept tilled, mowed or heavily mulched to
prevent weeds from propagating. Frequent tillage has the
additional advantages of turning organic material under
where it will add to soil organic matter and of mechanically
destroying any insects that are present.