With a little attention, you can
keep your landscape weed-free.

Prepare!

The battle lines are drawn, and it doesn't look good. Your favorite cosmos are surrounded by an angry troop of chickweed that keeps getting reinforcements. Your corn is short and malnourished, unable to defend itself against an invasion of velvetleaf. Your pretty garden path is being infiltrated through every crevice by knotweed. And you can't even bear to look at your once-lush fescue lawn, which is being ravaged by a regiment of crabgrass.

All gardeners know what it's like to have their yards invaded by unwelcome plants. Although there's no easy way to banish weeds, there are a few techniques you can use to reclaim your turf -- at the least, you can limit hostile takeovers.

1. Be a mulching maniac. Mulch acts as a suffocating blanket by preventing light from reaching weed seeds. At the same time, it holds moisture for your plants and provides nutrients for your soil as it decomposes. Apply coarse mulch, such as bark or wood chips, directly onto soil. Leaves, grass clippings, or straw work better as a weed deterrent with a separating layer of newspaper, cardboard, or fabric between them and the soil.

2. Water those weeds. Pulling weeds is easier and more efficient when the soil is moist. You are more likely to get the whole root system, and your yanking won't disturb surrounding plants as much either. No rain? Turn on the sprinkler or even water individual weeds, leave for a few hours, then get your hands dirty. (Just ignore the strange looks from your neighbors as you water your weeds.)

3. Cut weeds down in their prime. Weeds love open soil. But if you till or cultivate, then wait to plant, you can outmaneuver the weeds. Till the ground at least twice before you plant. Your first digging will bring dormant weed seeds to the surface where they can germinate. Watch and wait for a few weeks until they begin to grow. Then slice up the weeds again with a tiller or a hoe, only don't dig as deep. Now it should be safe to put precious plants into the soil.

4. Pass the salt. Try sweeping rock salt into crevices between paths. Although more harsh, borax also works well. Be sure to wear rubber gloves with the latter material. You might need to apply a few doses, but be aware of any surrounding plants because both products kill the good plants along with the bad.

5. Lay down the law. Try using landscape fabric as a weed controller. Landscape fabric is usually made of a nonwoven, porous polypropylene fabric, which enables air, water, and nutrients to reach the soil but keeps weed seeds in a dark, cool environment where they can't germinate. You lay down the fabric, cut a hole where your plants are positioned or will be planted, then cover the fabric with a 2- to 4-inch layer of mulch or gravel. However, landscape fabric doesn't work well on steep slopes or windy sites, where the mulch often slides off or is blown away, exposing the fabric. Never use plastic, as it prevents moisture and air from reaching your plants' roots.

6. Boil them alive. If you have pesky weeds in a spot with no nearby grass or valuable plants, boil water and pour it over the unsuspecting weeds. To control the stream of boiling water and to save surrounding plants and your toes from a scalding, use a teakettle.

7. To compost or not to compost. After you've labored to rid your garden of weeds, be careful that you don't throw weeds onto the compost heap where they can drop seed and infect your entire yard. When you pull or till young weeds, leave them where you chop them and let the sun dry them out, then use them as mulch. Throw mature weeds on a hot compost pile where they should cook at 200 degrees or higher for several weeks to ensure the seeds are killed.