Spot Weeding

• When the density of weeds is low in the lawn or vegetable garden, hand pulling weeds or digging out weeds is effective, especially against perennial weeds. When you pull out weeds with taproots, like dandelion or Canadian thistle, make sure you retrieve most of the taproot, otherwise the weed will regrow. Use a tool, such as the dandelion weeder, because it readily and efficiently removes weeds with taproots. Spot weeding is less practical for controlling weeds in large areas.
  
  

Flaming

• Use flaming to quickly and easily kill weeds. Flamers can be small, hand-held torches or backpack propane tanks with a hose and wand. Some farmers use tractor-drawn flamers. The torch flame heats to about 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit and only requires split seconds to kill the weed. It kills the weed not by burning but by boiling the water in the stems and foliage. Young annual weeds are the easiest to kill. Perennial weeds may require repeated flaming. Work rapidly so you don't disturb the soil and kill soil microorganisms. To prevent fires, avoid flaming during dry and windy periods. Flamers work well on non-grassy weeds. Grassy weeds, like crabgrass, are much harder to eliminate with flamers.
  
  

Hoeing and Tilling

• Hoeing is most effective in destroying young annual weeds. When you hoe in your vegetable garden or till your fields, do not go deeper than about 1 or 2 inches to prevent root damage to growing crops. Deep hoeing may also expose weed seeds in soil to light and cause new weeds to sprout.
  
  You can use a variety of hand-held hoes or a wheeled hoe to weed in between vegetable rows. For large weeds and large areas, you may need a tiller. When you till perennial weeds, you may get an increased patch of weeds, because root segments may have been deposited in a wider area, allowing new weeds to grow from each chopped-up root segment. Farmers can also remove weeds in between crop rows by using a tractor-drawn flex-tine harrow or hoes that rotate. A finger weeder or torsion weeder will remove weeds within the crop row.
  
  

Mowing

• Mow weeds in the lawn or in between vegetable rows to reduce seed production and prevent the spread and growth of new weeds. However, seeds may still be produced at a lower weed height after mowing. Perennial weeds may be reduced by mowing, because repeated mowing will weaken perennial weeds and lead to their eventual demise.