Read grass seed labels to make sure they don’t contain other crop seed. Ask for weed-free mulch, manure, compost, and soil. Be careful when buying materials from garden centers.Mow lawn reguarly to keep lawn weeds from producing seed.Clean tools when you move from one area of the garden to another to avoid spreading weed seeds.Do not leave pulled weeds on the surface discard! Weeds are easily to remove when the ground is moist, such as the day after a rainfall. Be careful to keep your digging shallow to you don’t bring new weeds seeds to the surface. Just pull them up or cut them off below the soil line. Some varieties produce tens of thousands of seeds from a single plant, multiplying your weed control problems for years to come. So make certain you remove weeds around your home before they flower and produce seeds. Never let ‘em seed! This is the #1 rule with weeds. Only taking preventitive controls will reduce the weed problem in the future. Before resorting to herbicides, look first to nonchemical weed control methods. Why? Herbicides may be a quick fix this year but will not keep your weed problem from recurring year after year. The best control strategy for weeds is always prevention. See “ Eating Weeds: Why Not? ” 10 Ways to Prevent Weeds Before They Become a Problem Many weeds stabilize the soil and add organic matter. Some are edible to humans and provide habitat and food for wildlife, too. Keep in mind: Of approximately 250,000 species of plants worldwide, only about 3% behave as weeds that we don’t want in cultivated areas. When in a foreign environment, these invaders often lack natural enemies to curtail their growth, which allows them to overrun native plants and ecosystems.” Many invasive weeds are also classified as noxious. Invasive Weed: “Weeds that establish, persist and spread widely in natural ecosystems outside the plant’s native range.See a list of noxious weeds by state here. Once a weed is classified as noxious authorities can implement quarantines and take other actions to contain or destroy the weed and limit its spread.” For example, Field Bindweed is considered a noxious weed. Noxious Weed: “Any plant designated by federal, state or local government officials as injurious to public health, agriculture, recreate, wildlife or property.

Weed: “A plant that causes economic losses or ecological damages, creates health problems for humans or animals or is undesirable where is it growing.” Think crabgrass, giant foxtail or common lambsquarters, for example.Here are definitions from the Weed Science Society of America:

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