1 . How to Control Weeds When Planting

No matter what you choose to grow in the garden, at some point, you will have to deal with unwanted plants, known as weeds.     1     Even a tomato plant can become a weed if it grows where you don’t want it to.

    2     Weeds can bring many problems. They steal nutrients and water. Weeds can also bring harmful bugs and diseases into your garden. Some weeds release chemicals that can slow the growth of nearby plants.

It is important to note that some weeds are not all bad. In fact, you can eat them. Dandelions (蒲公英) are also viewed as a weed by many people.     3     And you can eat or use nearly every part of the plant. But even other weeds can do good things in our garden. The roots of weeds can prevent the soil from being blown away by wind or washed away by rain.

However, left to grow on their own, weeds can take over a garden. To slow the growth of weeds, add a layer of weed-free, organic material to the top of your garden, around the plants.     4    

A simple and effective method of weed control is to break up the surface layer of the soil. But you must do this regularly. Do not turn the soil over.     5     If you turn the soil over, you give those seeds the light and air they need to grow. Probably the best way to fight some weeds is to eat them! Just make sure they are, in fact, eatable.