An old saying that not only gardeners use says: "There is still no herb against it!". In fact, there is no panacea against unwanted uncontrolled growth in the garden bed, especially since weeds are often very tough and fast-growing. No matter how many times you pull them up, dig them up, or try to attack them by other means, they keep coming back.
Pulling weeds is an unpopular gardening chore
The best tips for a weed-free bed
There are two main reasons for the stubbornness of weeds: Flowering weeds form very quickly a large number of seeds, which are spread around by the wind, for example, and in some cases remain capable of germinating for years. Other species - including goutweed - develop extremely long roots that form veritable networks underground. If these are torn out, new plants can form from even the smallest remains. Incidentally, this is also the reason why root weeds as well as seeding weeds should never be placed in the compost.
Weed, weed and weed again
The best remedy against weeds is and remains regular weeding, which should always be done in good time before the seeds ripen. Even if this seems very tedious, thanks to new garden tools, you no longer necessarily have to kneel on the ground. Long-handled weed pullers or weed removers make this job a lot easier. In addition, regular weeding has several pleasant side effects: Not only do you save yourself the expensive gym, over time the weed pressure decreases all by itself. Frequent weeding weakens the unwanted weed so that it appears less and less.
Dig up and loosen regular soil
Root weeds in particular can only be kept in check by frequently digging up and loosening the soil (e.g. with a hoe). Make sure to remove as many roots as possible when you dig deep. You should also use a digging fork instead of a spade, as the roots can be broken up more sustainably with this tool.
Do not leave any open spaces in the bed
In nature, there are no free, unvegetated areas. Bare soil is always overgrown within a very short time, which is why you can keep weeds away by not leaving any open spaces in the bed. Cover the spaces between the crops with stones (e.g. pebbles), gravel or other mulch material (e.g. bark mulch, grass clippings). Weed fleece (€21.70) is also very useful.
tips
Strictly speaking, there are actually no "weeds"; instead, the wild growth in the bed consists of edible wild herbs with healthy ingredients. You can pluck goutweed, chickweed, sorrel, purslane and co. - and then eat them with relish as a tea, salad or soup.