The 10 Worst Garden Weeds

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by Pixabay/photoAC

Weeds are an inevitable thorn in every gardener’s side. While some weeds offer benefits, such as the edible greens of young dandelions and the nutritious roots of burdock, many quickly become a frustrating, ongoing struggle if you don’t spot them early. Garden weeds can steal water, sunlight and soil nutrients from food crops, and some even release toxic chemicals into the soil that inhibit the growth of other plants.

To find out which garden weeds pose the biggest problems in gardens throughout the United States and Canada, MOTHER EARTH NEWS surveyed more than 2,000 gardeners. We asked respondents to rate which weeds were the worst in their gardens, and to tell us about their best organic weed control methods. They also rated the effectiveness of specific mulch types, organic herbicides and tools used to cope with garden weeds.

Two thousand gardeners can’t be wrong — the best tools for keeping ahead of weeds include several types of hoes (see Hard-Working Garden Hoes), a good garden fork, a garden knife, a dandelion puller (some use an old screwdriver or butcher knife instead), and a high-quality pair of gloves.

Grasses took the cake among the top 10 worst weeds in home gardens with four representatives: crab grass, Bermuda grass, quack grass and Johnson grass. Dishonorable mentions included docks, lamb’s-quarters, knotweed and poison ivy. Hand weeding and mulching heavily with organic matter were far and away the control measures that received the most praise, and nothing beats frequent monitoring and early intervention for protection against serious infestations.

The illustrations in the Image Gallery above will help you with early identification of the 10 worst weeds. Plus, download a free poster to help you ID the 22 worst weeds (including 12 not discussed here).

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