SHIFTING weeds can be an annoying job – particularly when they seem to pop straight back up the next week.
But there are some savvy hacks that mean you can easily rid yourself of the pesky unwanted plants and keep them away for good.
Experts from Checkatrade shared their top tips for blitzing your garden and getting it in great shape.
They said: "One of the simplest ways to clear a garden full of weeds is by hand – though you’ll need to be ready for some hard work if you’re weeding an entire garden.
“Depending on the size of the weeds, you can either start by pulling them out by hand if they’re small enough.
“If you have some whopping great weeds on your hands, then you’ll want to start by using loppers and shears to cut them down to a manageable size.
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“Once you’ve cut back all the weeds, grab your spade and turn over the soil. You might even want to consider double digging, where you dig out the top layer of soil and then dig a new trench at twice the depth that you fill with fresh soil.”
This is a tough job but it's not the only technique the pros suggest.
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Mulching is a great way of clearing weeds and will also feed your flourishing garden.
The experts said: "You’ll need to start by trimming down any large weeds and then leave the off-cuts on the ground.
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“You then cover the whole area in cardboard and pile on leaves as high as you can, leaving it to rot.
"The cardboard layer creates a lack of light for the weeds underneath, which will kill them off.”
The pros also suggested getting in there with weed killer as another alternative.
The Checkatrade experts said: “If you’re not planning to use your garden for planting anything new for a few years and you simply want to clear the whole area of weeds, weed killers could be an option.
“Using weed killers is a fast and effective but hardcore way of ridding yourself of weeds. They’re also very toxic, so shouldn’t be used in gardens where children or pets will be playing.”
Simply spray weed killer on the weeds and leave them to die, you'll need to respray a month later to make sure you really get the job done.
But the pros warned: “But remember, the presence of weed killer in the soil afterwards will mean you won’t be able to grow any plants for a long while afterwards."
According to the experts, clear plastic can be used to kill garden weeds as it increases the temperature of the soil underneath, which can kill weed seeds and roots.
The experts also suggested using clear plastic to shift the unwanted plants.
They said: “Clear plastic will still allow light to reach the weeds, whereas black plastic will both increase the soil temperature and block out the light – a double whammy for killing weeds.”
The final tip from the Checkatrade experts is to use weed burners or torches in your garden.
A weed burner uses a flame to burn the weeds but it comes with a warning.
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The experts said: “Due to the nature of a weed burner, this approach comes with a risk of causing a fire in the garden and must therefore be carried out with caution.
“If in doubt, seek help from a professional gardener or weed burner specialist before carrying out the work yourself.”
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