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Once a weed has sprouted, you have a few ways of dealing with it. The sooner you catch it, the easier it will be to remove. Tender, young seedlings, especially annuals, can be removed quickly and efficiently with simple hoeing. It'll slice them off just below the soil's surface so they can't regrow.
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Hoeing at a shallow angle, as I'm doing in the photo, won't bring many more seeds to the surface, ready to sprout. Notice how the hoe is almost parallel to the soil? Chopping into the soil deeper might expose more weed seeds.
Spraying herbicides on seedlings that could be hoed or pulled is probably overkill. On the flipside, once a perennial weed becomes established, cutting off the top or pulling at it might not be enough. Many have deep or extensive root systems.
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Dig large, well-established weeds from the ground. Aim the blade straight into the soil the way I'm doing here and pry the weed out. Make sure to remove all of the roots of perennial weeds or they might sprout and begin growing again.
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In a lawn or closely planted perennial garden, pulling or digging may not be practical. Careful use of herbicides might be better. A wick made from a rag wrapped around a stick like this will put the herbicide just where you want it. You can saturate the rag and carefully brush it over the weed without harming desirable plantings.
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