Monty Don has explained how to weed by hand so they stay away (Image: Getty)
will be waking up from their winter slumbers, and as plants sprout and blooms flourish, so too will weeds. To stop the eyesores, Monty Don has explained the step-by-step process of how to remove them by hand. Naturally, weeding the old-fashioned way is “organic” and only requires “just about any tool”.
An important task that stops weeds from sprouting and taking over, the garden expert says hand is most effective when done a little bit at a time. As explained on Gardeners World: “Do one metre properly and that’s far better than doing 10 metres half-heartedly.”
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Monty Don demonstrated how to remove weeds to the root (Image: Getty)
How to weed by hand – without chemicals
On an episode of Gardners’ World, Monty demonstrated how to hand weed.
He began: “Hand weeding – getting down on your hands and knees and getting up close and personal. But the important thing to realise is that a weed is simply a plant in the wrong place. So, things you will be quite happy with elsewhere are no good or it’s not working.”
He gestured toward a nettle, chickweed and dandelion growing in among the : “We’ve got some peonies growing here and you can see how the weeds have grown in right in amongst them.”
All you need is a tool, and Monty assures any will do: “You need an implement of some sort, I use this kirpi here, but quite honestly, anything will do.”
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The garden expert said it’s very important to weed slowly and thoroughly (Image: Getty)
He emphasised: “What matters is getting in there and also it’s a very good way of getting to know your soil, getting to know your plants, it’s a very intimate process, weeding.
“Just get in there and hoick it out. Now quite carefully taking out that dandelion, the nettle, in underneath it with that sharp edge, pull it out. I don’t want to sting myself – there we go. See, that’s got horrible roots.”
Weeding by hand is more time intensive, but Monty says a little big goes a long way.
“But it’s very important to do so they don’t seed and they don’t take over. And the other thing about weeding is do it a little bit at a time. Do one metre properly and that’s far better than doing 10 metres half-heartedly.”