How to weed your garden - expert tips

When and how to weed your garden, the real truth about weeding without chemicals, weeding with a hoe and the best weeding equipment. Plus top tips from experts, bloggers and KZbinrs, including Mark Lane Designs, Laetitia Maklouf, Alex Mitchell, The Skinny Jean Gardener, ‪@CharlesDowding1nodig‬ ‪@Gardenninja‬ ‪@LizZorab‬ Jack Wallington and the Two Thirsty Gardeners. Find out the real truth about weeding and the easy ways to do it.
Tips from:
Mark Lane: www.marklanedesigns.com/
Laetitia Maklouf: laetitiamaklouf.com/
Charles Dowding: charlesdowding.co.uk/
Alex Mitchell: alex-mitchell.co.uk/
Lee Burkhill: www.gardenninja.co.uk/
Lee Connolly The Skinny Jean Gardener:skinnyjeangardener.co.uk/podcast
Liz Zorab: bytherfarm.co.uk/
Jack Wallington: www.jackwallington.com/
Nick Moyle of Two Thirsty Gardeners: twothirstygardeners.co.uk/
To buy the following books (links to Amazon are affiliate which means I may get a small fee if you buy, but it doesn't affect the price you pay. Other links are not affiliate.)
The Five Minute Garden:amzn.to/2xOw8So
Crops in Tight Spots: amzn.to/3bFlw6P
Organic Gardening, The Natural No Dig Way: amzn.to/2VZKirw
How to Get Kids Gardening: amzn.to/2xXvSQT
Wild About Weeds: amzn.to/2W0z5Ht
Wild Tea: amzn.to/2VRNOo0
Weeding tools:
Hori hori: www.niwaki.com/store/hori-hori/
Wolf Garten scraper patio knife: amzn.to/2VBvv7H
Wolf Garten weeding knife: amzn.to/2KxfitP
Snoeber tools: www.sneeboer.co.uk/
To see more about Jack Wallington's Wild About Weeds interview with the Middlesized Garden: • Garden weeds - a new a...
For garden ideas, gardening advice, garden design and landscaping ideas for your garden or backyard, subscribe to the Middlesized Garden KZbin channel here: / themiddlesizedgardencouk
Whether you love English garden style, cottage gardens or contemporary urban gardening, The Middlesized Garden has gardening advice and garden ideas for you.
Weekly videos cover gardening advice and garden design - from small space gardens to middle-sized garden landscaping - plus garden tours and tips for container gardening.
The Middlesized Garden practices sustainability, wildlife gardening and no till methods. If your garden backyard is smaller than an acre, join us and enjoy your garden even more!
#gardening #gardendesign #backyardgarden
For small and middlesized backyards and gardens....
See The Middlesized Garden blog: www.themiddlesizedgarden.co.uk/
For Amazon storefront see: www.amazon.com/shop/themiddle...
Note: links to Amazon are affiliate which means I get a small fee for qualifying purchases. It doesn't affect the price you pay and I only recommend things I use myself or really think you'd like!
More garden ideas on Pinterest:www.pinterest.co.uk/midsizega...
Twitter: / midsizegarden
Facebook: / themiddlesizedgarden

[@barbll000]

This is a fabulous video. I love that you've also included contributions from other channels as well. Well done indeed :)

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

Thank you!

[@aelthen874]

As this is the pinned comment i'll share here that in order to search Google more accurately, you need only use the correct symbols. For example, if you search for "weeding" (including the "__" symbols) it will only return results which exactly include the term weeding. If you type "weeding" -wedding, it will also remove all results including the word wedding. This is known as boolean search logic, if you wanted to search it to find out more about this. Hope this helps someone!

[@deborahburgart561]

Hi Alexandria. I'm a professional gardener myself. I love your channel. It's so informative. An additional way I've found to be the best way to decrease my weeds and/or weeding by least 75% is by using a cheap serrated steak knife and cutting the top of the weed just below the soil surface then cover with mulch or compost. I don't leave any foliar growth above soil level so my weeds can't photosynthesize and dont grow back. I never pull out weeds. There are billions of dormant weed seeds underground and around weed roots. If you bring the soil up and disturb it you've just exposed all these weed seeds to the sun and now they will germinate. Disturbed or bare soil=weeds. This approach works wonderfully. 😊 Thank you!! 💖

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

Very good tip, Will try it.

[@vallang4832]

That’s the way I weed.

[@marywalshe4769]

I just love Alexandria and her humour and practical no nonsense approach! Incidentally her advice is sterling!

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

Thank you so much!

[@sararickmore1195]

I am a new gardener at the age of 53, trying to make up for lost time. I find your videos a tremendous source of information and very pleasant to watch

[@TheDonovanu]

Love the intro and the distinction between weeding and wedding 😂😂

[@ccphysio6578]

I just LOVE how gardening KZbinrs just see each other as resources and colleagues rather than competition! Such a positive collaborative online space 😁😁

[@heidis3993]

I live in a city, and this year I decided not to remove the weeds growing in the sidewalk cracks. Until last year, the house across the street had been empty for years, and untended, and the back yard was a paradise for little birds. Now that they don't have that resource, the seeds of the little sidewalk weeds are important to them. Lately, there have been PSAs warning against feeding bread crumbs to birds of all sorts, because their appropriate food is seeds. And it's a delight to see the tiny birds hopping around their inches-high "farm."

[@midoann]

Thank you. I love how you promote other experts ( maybe other influencers wouldn’t do it fearing losing followers). I think your confidence comes from your experience, knowledge, love gardens and over all, you are aware how much the way you choose topics and edit them are helping many people around the world. I’m from Japan, even though the climate is different I learn a lot from your site, thank you.

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

Thank you! Japanese gardens are so interesting and have quite an impact on our gardening style

[@tomokitty2153]

Yes to native plants (aka weeds)and especially those that feed pollinators and us. You are blessed if you have dandelion, chickweed, and clover. Just say no to chemicals and plastic. So much better (in my experience) to use newspaper and cardboard in place of landscape plastic with applied composted leaf mulch on top, or any mulch. Fabulous video.

[@oldgadfly8398]

I randomly searched for a video on weeds and stumbled upon this. I have a love-hate relationship with my garden. The humorous opening is classic. Who would think the subject of weeds could be such a pleasure? I'm a bit more motivated to go outside and try to tackle this! A sincere thank you!

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

Thank you!

[@tessmonro7102]

Thanks for your informative videos. Tip for weeding. I bought very cheap hand forks & leave 1 in every bed so that if I see a weed when I'm passing by I can remove it quickly without getting my hands dirty.

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

That's an interesting tip!

[@LizZorab]

Chockablock full of useful info again Alexandra, thank you so much for inviting me to participate.

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

You're welcome, really good tip of yours about focussing the weeding where it really needs to be.

[@conniekeshet]

Im alone in my place since march 8, that intro on googling weeding was epic. I laughed so hard thanks. What serious research you do, i love your attitude! Thanks

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

Thank you! I hope we all get some better news soon and are able to move more freely but safely.

[@traceyhudson6883]

For those times when a weed killer is necessary, I have had great success applying it with a paintbrush, which spares the surrounding plants from overspray damage. Thank you for very enjoyable content!

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

That's a good tip.

[@larks...3297]

When you said " I check up the internet even if I have been doing it.." that really earned a great respect from me. Thank you so much

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

Thank you!

[@meredith3588]

Loved your intro! Had me smiling! Sometimes it's hard to find the topic you're looking for on the internet. Also found the therapy information interesting with the microbes assisting in our serotonin production. Nature has such a beneficial way of providing for everyone!

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

Thank you!

[@jshack6168]

Really nice. Love how much you collaborate with others and introduce us to new people to follow. Im newish to gardening and I’m trying to go for the reclassify/give nature a space in my garden. Would never trust my children to weed- my daughter has a habit of tipping plant pots upside down on the raised beds and announcing “Sand Castle!” Shes two and loves getting her hands dirty.

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

Sweet!

[@SuzanneLegault]

I love how you so generously shared all those great KZbin gardening channels and books. Thank you.

[@jeanneamato8278]

This was absolutely fantastic! I love the way you share other gardeners. Will watch this again. So happy I found you. ❤️

[@nspector]

This video took so much organizing. I really appreciate it. What you were getting at in the end reminded me of something the American garden designer Tracy DiSabato-Aust wrote. I originally read Tracy years ago for her amazing work on perennial pruning, but the line I'm thinking of is to do with weeding. She said, "instead of calling it weeding, how about we just call it gardening." That stuck with me and shifted my attitude. If you really love working in the garden, weeding is simply another part of being out there.

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

Excellent point. I will remind myself every time I feel grouchy about weeding.

[@vjjoshi8309]

👌👍❤ I am 80 yrs old Just retired from work but now courting the garden. Gardening is enjoyable but it is like dealing with a difficult partner. needing to keep with all difficulties in this partnership buy hoping for the happy ending. Happy ending does happen. Loved all the tips. Thank you.

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

Thank you and I agree!

[@bingersinger1517]

Loved this video! I agree that my garden has mead my Corona time very manageable! I have loved the time outside in the sun and fresh air and am so grateful for the birds and their songs! What a gift to me and a wonderful therapy during the stress of this pandemic😎

[@annettebest3877]

Great video, lots of information and helpful advice from experienced gardeners! Loved your intro! Thank you for all your effort and for sharing!!

[@annettebowersox1976]

I love Charles Dowding!! He is the most brilliant gardener ever!!

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

He is, indeed.

[@cynsational7225]

I’m so glad I’m watching this! I wish I would’ve watched this a few months ago before my garden was overrun by weeds! I have a lot of work to do now

[@margiecosgrove4657]

Absolutely fabulous! Thank you so much for the varied, entertaining and extremely informative content. Hello from New Zealand.

[@tomking5855]

Thank you sooo much for such a practical and well informed advice on all things weeding.

[@AndreaAubertin]

I always find it's easier to weed after a good rain...especially in harder clay soils like mine😊

[@AussieBrit]

Haha, just thought you might like to know that I Googled "weeding your garden" (this is Apr 2021) and THERE YOU WERE! I'm still trawling through your older stuff, love it! Cheers from Oz! 🦘

[@wasanthed8214]

What a selfless, noble heart !!!! No words to appreciate yr deed . Love and gratitude from Sri Lanka !!! 🇱🇰

[@graylagran7443]

thank you for all the useful information, and thank you to the commenters with additional insight and inspiration ~ sometimes i say to myself (regarding weeding or mowing) ~ today i'm going to make my garden pretty! it's a mindset. greetings from Raleigh, North Carolina.

[@lisawilliamson815]

Thank you! I appreciate your way of teaching, assuming we are brand new to gardening and providing us with enough info to "catch us up" if we are behind on other instruction or videos. I also appreciate you sharing other good informative videos and books! Wonderful content!!

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

You are so welcome!

[@feeonaghchambers7403]

I am SO glad I came upon these videos! So informative & practical &delivered in such a delightful, friendly way! Thank you Alexandra.

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

Thank you!

[@danellebuckler7779]

Greetings from Cleveland, Ohio. I just found this video and it's so helpful. I feel like I can go back out there and conquer the world, or at least the weeds in my garden. Thank you 🌱

[@outdoors459]

Thanks Alexandra this such a great channel, you always bring the community together & I love connecting with the other youtubers. Your videos are always very timely

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

Thank you!

[@1958pobs]

Thank you 🙏 I love pulling bind weed up, I also love the plant so It makes me smile both ways 🤗

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

It's very satisfying to get a really long root out.

[@jodeen494]

Thank you for your videos. They are very helpful and I watch them often. I have learned much from you and appreciate your work.

[@heatherhui938]

This was extremely helpful, thank you! It's given me the moral boost I needed to continue tackling the Crown vetch in my yard and garden.

[@Declan_Moriarty]

You're so well spoken. You get right to the point. You're so informative. Thank you!

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

You are so welcome!

[@pamgoggins5281]

So much information and tips in this video it’s one to rewatch. Thank you for sharing! This is my favorite video you’ve posted

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

Thank you!

[@jeromegagnon8335]

You always put a smile on my face, I appreciate your humour

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

Thank you!

[@heathershinnie-gonzales3933]

Thank you from Canada❤️🇨🇦 I have a small perennial garden and I really enjoyed this video❤️🇨🇦

[@dismith73]

Thank you for compiling this video, it has all the information in one place and saved a lot of searching about for me.

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

Glad it was helpful!

[@nadinelinda627]

Excellent video. Easy to understand and well planned. Thanks!

[@jackie4mail]

Just watched this, and instantly subscribed! Entertaining, and full of great tips, thank you!

[@sueparnell3818]

My 80 year old father tended our 50 year mature garden until his recent ill health, I have since taken up the baton and didn't have much of a clue about what I was doing, I'm a new subscriber I've learnt so much from you, thank you so much you are amazing and very inspirational xx

[@ettietti8533]

great idea and tip , i just weed my garden by hand and removing them when they are small , it is a lots of work but is fun and excllent meditation

[@rachelbird7798]

Thank you so much for this video- it was packed full of advice and useful practices. I love your selection of 'weapons' as well!

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

Glad it was helpful!

[@angelabourke7958]

Excellent video…a really thorough and broad approach to the subject. Well done and thank you.

[@bredasneddon8304]

Love you videos and all the links to other sources of information. Double help. Thank you.

[@carolhenderson2466]

Very informative as always. It can be fun to miss a weed and find out that it is a plant that you like. I had this happen with wild Ageratum. I had been pulling it up for years and one time I missed some. That's when I discovered it has a lovely blue blossom that blooms late in the season. Since then I have spread it around the garden for late season color. Durham, NC, USA

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

Thank you!

[@gregwayne6785]

You’ve inspired me. I have a new perspective toward the daunting task…even toward bindweed.

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

Bindweed! The worst...

[@coolwater55]

Exceptional presentation on variety of wedding (🥴) hints, tricks, habits or alternate views! I love that you spent a good amount of the video showcasing other gardeners styles or hints. Plus you interspersed their clips! It provided a thorough cover of the topic that saves the reader tons of time, plus all gardeners enjoy more gardening channels! I subscribed for your willingness to share other channels you follow!!

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

Thanks so much! 😊 It's great to hear that people appreciate hearing about other channels.

[@janetcorey5102]

Also, love other gardeners sharing their ideas🌷

[@danielmccarthy2445]

This is the best gardening advice channel on KZbin, well done 👏

[@kenneyg100]

Great intro! I'm a there and then gardener for weeds. But then I have a small garden so it's quite easy. I have no bindweed in my new garden - I had it in my previous garden. I found it an on-going problem. A weed and a plant🤗

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

Thank you!

[@lindabarnes1585]

I do two things that cut my weeding down to 15 minutes per week once the plants are established. I rototill my soil once in spring and then again in the fall to incorporate grass clippings and a bag of compost per garden box. It doesn’t take long for the green grass clippings to break down, and the compost enriches the soil and helps it become lighter and looser. I put 24” rebar at all 4 corners of the boxes ,and cut 1” flexible irrigation pipe into 8ft. Lengths and thread them over the rebar to make hoops. This accomplishes 2 things as I put 6 mil clear plastic over the hoops to warm the soil earlier in spring and the plastic over the hoops keeps weed seeds floating in the air from landing in the grow boxes. I use the high density planting method so each box is packed with plants and plants grown from seed, so again when I need to remove the plastic, the plants keep floating seeds from landing on the dirt, so there is very little weeding to be done. Watering is also easier because I can flood the box as needed with a wand on the end of hose. Hope this helps.

[@WyrdHag]

So many of my favourite KZbinrs in one video!!! 🌿👍

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

Thank you!

[@marietownsend8396]

Thank you and the contributing you tubers. I'm really not a middle sized gardener because i have 6 acres, but some of it is wooded so I have to live with weeds. I usually get out the gas powered equipment and go to town chopping. In the cultivated areas i pull them out, but now I'm going to look for the hand tool you use. Our garden centers will be opening next weekend in Michigan and I can hardly wait. Thank you again and I'll be looking up the guests you tubers.

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

Thank you!

[@greatgardensforall]

What a wonderful video! Just when I think I know all about weeding I realize there is so much more to learn! 😊

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

Thank you! I'm just trying to make myself do some every day....not quite succeeding at the moment, though.

[@shamsjaffer15]

Another very informative video .thank you for including other comments

[@peacelily720]

It's a pleasure to watch to learn about gardening which I started recently. Your channel is encouraging more flowers to plant using garden tools. There's a super easy tool I've been using is a " homi" for gardening, weeding, planting, and harvesting not even using shovels. You can buy at amazon or Asian market. I want anybody can try out they will be surprised and never get disappointed. Thank you always*¿*

[@TaylorTiree]

Thank you so much for this video. I am a novice gardener and I’ve been wondering how to tackle the plethora of weeds in the garden.Lovely to hear from other contributors as well.

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

Glad it was helpful!

[@maceyloubrown]

I just LOVE your videos and advice. Loved the guest tips, too. Nice work ☺️

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

Thanks so much! 😊

[@mimibatman2787]

I just subscribed. You did such a fabulous job with this video! Looking forward to seeing more of you 😊. Greetings from Wilmington, Delaware USA

[@rich-ard-style6996]

So many great tips in ONE VIDEO. Just perfect! Thank you very very much. It's is intensely helpful. Love it❤️

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

You're so welcome!

[@Dana-ml7sy]

My mother was a wonderful gardener & she also had a habit of picking out weeds when she saw them. A word of warning she pulled one & fell back breaking her scapular! She was ill at the time but old habits die hard.

[@areebus4226]

Thank you for all the homework you did for us. This is perhaps the most useful video about weeding I have stumbled upon to date.

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

Thank you!

[@kruczek4646]

It's so funny when you learn English watching this video😂 I use Polish and we have two very different words describing these two things: weeding= odchwaszczanie, wedding= ślub😉 Alexandra, I think I will remember word weeding😍

[@prettyvroomvroomcar]

WOW this is a great video! So informative with lots of resources to check out. Well done with all the effort you put into it! Thanx so much!

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

Thank you!

[@naomiweaver1855]

This is a wonderful video! I’ve adopted the philosophy of declassifying weeds into really pretty plants I want to keep. They come up first in the spring in my lawn and feed the pollinators until other plants are available. But I also let the various weeds come up over the seasons, there are different varieties, to live their lives with pollinators and wildlife. Occasionally, the celandine bully the oxalis, so I dig clumps of those out. But I love the “wild” lamium and let it run rampant through the lawn. The only thing I try to keep in line are the dandelions. They really want to take over. The clover keeps to itself. There are so many plants with minute but complicated flowers and I enjoy them as much as things I plant. I watched your video on making your front garden into a meadow, and I thought it was lovely even without large clumps of daffodils - which will come later. I think it’s natural that things come along slowly. A bird drops a seed that then becomes a single plant and then multiplies. Any real gardener will see what you’re doing, and anyone who thinks your front garden is unkempt? Who cares about them?!

[@dustybritches3723]

I’m American but I just love Monty Don and his advice! Thanks for a great video!

[@dontalkt2meboutheros]

For anyone intending to use weedkiller. It's more practical to apply weedkiller with a course, larger droplet spray. This means less air pressure within the spraying unit. It is much less likely to drift onto nearby, cherished plants. A good tip also, is to initially get a feel for any new weedkiller applicators spread and handling using water only, spraying onto a hard surface to literally get a visual example of it's drift.

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

Thank you, that's interesting.

[@KordTaylor]

Excellent video. Thank you so much. ❤

[@vickisazaklidou2699]

I’m also a new gardener, trying to do my best at the age of 64 I’m fed up cleaning the weeds, three times a year even more This video really helped me to think what I should do. Thank you very much for your advice😘🇬🇷

[@ramyavanmaele9643]

I’m so happy to find you Thankyou

[@tracimatsunaka1561]

Well put together, great resources! Thank you so much!

[@jonaswilmart3326]

Great video! My parents always thought me that a "weed" is just a plant we haven't found a use for yet.... That mind set saves you a lot of time and energy, and makes you appreciate nature on an all new level.

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

So true!

[@bingersinger1517]

My Mom loved dandelions as they were so nutritious. My neighbors frown on my growth but they are such cheerful reminders of finding value in what others dismiss as worthless. We ate them regularly growing up. My neighbor treat their yards with chemicals s I d not trust mine are not impacted by ground waters and over spray😥

[@TheEnthusiasticGardener]

Hi Alexandra, thanks for this video and all your tips, and also for recommending other good KZbin gardening channels ... have subscribed to them all. My preferred method for weeding is to dig them all out by the roots, but I don't have a huge garden so it's less daunting, and because I've been persistent over the years it now is so much quicker, and now I actually enjoy weeding.

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

Thank you!

[@Neldidellavittoria]

Another great video! Loved the funny introduction. I’m the wild-about-weeds sort because many weeds have pretty flowers or berries, so I even collect seeds from weeds I find growing in the street, haha.

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

There are weeds I love, like toadflax, and ones I hate like winter heliotrope...

[@HortiHugo]

Oh well put together - very useful advise for gardeners of all experiences, take care, Hugh 😊👍🏼🌿

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

Thank you, hope you're well!

[@rover790]

I learned lots from this excellent video on weeding. Thanks for all the tips and links Alexandra

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

Glad it was helpful!

[@myrnaleon8464]

Excellent tips. Thanks so much. 👌🌹❤️😘

[@hannahcruse557]

What a lovely video. Not just great information, but very uplifting!

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

Thank you!

[@lizmulvey4995]

Love your posts Really informative and all aspects of the problem considered. Subscribed and looking forward to watching more 😊. A weed is just a flower in the wrong place🌼🌻🌾🍀

[@Angie-ci1lp]

Great video! Very informative! I really like your reference videos as well. Thank you again🙋🏾‍♀️

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

Glad you like them!

[@osmanthine]

Just discovered your channel and happily subscribed. Grateful for the treasure trove of information in the videos! The video format is excellent. Your voice is so soothing! As I was watching this video in my novice garden, a bird took its time splashing about in the birdbath. It is a credit to your calm way of speaking. Thank you!

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

How lovely, thank you.

[@Ben-Ken]

I paused this video to buy a hori hori. Never heard of it before but it's the tool I've always needed.

[@TimPratt1]

Here for the first time, I’m a plant novice and this summation truly presents a helpful variety of strategies. I enjoy the pace and personal asides, thank you 😊

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

Thank you!

[@srqpdq6697]

Fantastic and useful video !

[@michellebeissel3937]

I love your videos including how you always end them with the most sweet, lyrical goodbye! My go-to mulch is living. Densely planted evergreen groundcovers like periwinkle (Vinca minor) and sweet violets have gotten rid of nettles, thistles, and bindweed in our garden. It does take several years for the groundcovers to get established, but eventually they become robust enough to snuff out all weeds. Our vegetables are planted very close together in block beds. Early on in the season, some weeding is required, but soon the veggie's own leaves block out sunlight to the competition.

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

That's a very good point. Thank you.

[@julieluckey7902]

@@TheMiddlesizedGarden I have also always used periwinkle but to my shock and horror, I have discovered that half my vinca is actually wintercreeper. I live in Virginia where it is a problem. At this point, I'm not sure I can save my beautiful rhododendron and azaleas. As I now try to pull up the well-established wintercreeper, everything is getting pulled up in the process. Gardening advise would be appreciated, but at this point I think I need an exorcist.

[@Tabby318]

Thank you for this video. I have tried a home-made solution using vinegar and also bought an organic weed-killer containing vinegar and neither took out the strong weeds. I was recently given 2 bottles of 20 or 30% acetic acid vinegar and a bottle of 70%, bought from a grocery shop. It was your comment about vinegar that encouraged me to look it up. I had no idea that it could be so dangerous - I was going to use it for pickling and weed killing! So, thank you for talking about vinegar.

[@grovermartin6874]

The 20% acetic acid vinegar does work, and it's also scary. Before I bought an all-plastic sprayer to apply it to weeds in a gravel driveway, some friends who were visiting one very hot day had the idea to experiment with the vinegar and one sturdy perennial we were looking at by applying it with a paintbrush. That weed wilted so fast it took our breath away. Note: After spraying the driveway weeds in early summer for three years, the edges of the lawn where it had been oversprayed remained brown. So there is some redidual effect. Not glyphosphate, at least!

[@louisehoward8608]

Thank you so much very informative xx

[@ublart49]

Thank you for your informative channel. As well as your own input, I really enjoy the different approaches on a subject by your guest speakers. It makes it interesting and informative. I like your "no waffle" style. Succinct, great. thanks again.

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

I appreciate that!

[@judyhayes9819]

I’ll watch this video again!

[@valiumsurbanjungle2041]

Very interesting and useful information, thank you!! I can only garden in containers, so I can only hand pull the weeds, and I do end up leaving some alone, especially the ground covering ones. I've been doing some research on the weeds, seems as if there are a few benefits to them, as long as you keep them somewhat controlled. Have a wonderful Sunday!! ☺️

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

Thank you!

[@laurieanne9712]

I love your packed-full useful vlogs!

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

Glad you like them!

[@possumyx]

The one weed I leave alone is alkanet. It seeds from uncultivated gardens either side of mine. The bees go crazy for the nectar in the small, pretty blue flowers, especially in early spring when there is very little else about. The bonus is that the plant is relatively short-lived and easy to pull up.

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

I do pull alkanet out, but that doesn't deter it, and as you say, the bees love it.

[@drazzleafrica9250]

You're totally wonderful! Thank you so much for all those magnificent tips. Richard from South Africa

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

Thank you!

[@ayelaii]

Great video with great tips! We recently bought our first home and I've been letting everything grow kind of wild (including the weeds) just as an experiment to see what's here. To my surprise, I did discover a couple beautiful, native "weeds" that the pollinators have gone crazy for. I'll definitely be encouraging those in the garden next year!

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

Great approach!