Weeding Works! It is a lot of work, but well worth it, because if you do it right the job gets easier. If you never let the weeds get to the fruiting stage and spread more seeds, each year there will be less and less until it gets to the point where the only weed seeds that germinate are the few the wind or birds bring in. I used Preen for a few years. I do not use it any more because it does some damage to the plants in the beds. It stunted my daylilies causing some to take four years to bloom after planting rather than the normal one to three years. It affected their roots. I don't like working with chemicals anyway. Too many of them have not been sufficiently studied for effects on humans and other wildlife.
Weeding needs to be done in early Spring when the seeds are germinating, weed seedlings are small and can be easily removed (roots and all), and the weather is cool so you do not sweat yourself to death. Unless you have seriously raised beds, weeding is done on your knees. Invest in a really good kneeling pad. Amazon has a good one:: I have the extra thick one that has two sections joined together--each section has a handle so when folded together they form a handle to carry it around. I have had it for almost four years now. It's dirty, but otherwise shows no signs of wear. Throughout the summer keep an eye out for weeds and pull them. A newly made bed always has the most weeds because the newly worked soil has lots of weed seeds. If you decimate their ranks in the Spring, and keep ahead of them producing seeds, in a few years the job will get much easier.
Another thing to have is a great pair of gloves. The best for work or gardening is: Atlas Thermal fit gloves (also available from Amazon). The palm to under the finger area is coated with rubber---real rubber. There are many other gloves like this on the market, but they are coated with artificial rubber that breaks down in less than a year or reacts to various things that makes the rubber melt and get sticky and nasty. These gloves are a bit more expensive, but well worth it. My first pair lasted four and a half years. I probably could have gotten another year out of them, but opted to get new because a small hole had developed that let dirt in. I had to wash my hands every time I used them. I did the math and it works out to cost a little over a dollar/year to have the best gloves.
I hope this post helps you.
