June Is When Weeds Really Take Off – This Is the Best Way to Remove Them, Says a Pro Gardener

June is when weeds seem to appear overnight. One minute your borders are neat and tidy, and the next they're crowded with unwanted guests, leaving you with the less-than-fun task of removing them all before your favorite plants get smothered.

Luckily for me, the professional gardener I turn to for advice has more than 20 years of experience – and also happens to be my husband, so you can rest assured he has excellent judgment. And according to him, the best way to remove weeds doesn't involve reaching for a bottle of weed killer at all.

I know, I know; a lot of people tend to turn to chemical weed killers, but they're rarely the best solution. After all, herbicides don't just harm beneficial insects, contaminate soil, and negatively affect the wider garden ecosystem; they can also damage nearby plants if applied incorrectly, particularly on windy days or in mixed borders.

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With that in mind, then, what's the safest and most effective option?

The Best Way to Remove June Weeds

From dousing them in boiling water to dusting them with baby powder to (ahem) timing things perfectly, there are a lot of weeding hacks on social media. If you want a gardener's perspective on the matter, though, the best solution is also the oldest in the playbook: dig them out.

"For persistent weeds, digging is always my first choice," he says. "If you remove the entire root system, you're much less likely to see the weed return. It takes a little more effort upfront, but it's usually the most effective long-term solution."

Of course, perennial weeds such as docks, dandelions, and bindweed can quickly regrow from root fragments left behind in the soil. Carefully loosening the ground with a hand fork and removing as much of the root as possible gives you the best chance of preventing repeat growth (if you want that, mind you; one gardener's trash is another's treasure, and some people quite like sharing their garden with their birth month weed).

So, digging. Except, when summer growth is in full swing and weeds seem to be appearing faster than you can remove them, you should swap your go-to tool for a garden hoe.

"Hoeing is one of the quickest and most efficient ways to stay on top of weeds during summer," my tame gardener explains. "On a warm, dry day, slicing through young weeds just below the soil surface can clear large areas in minutes. The severed weeds are left on the surface where they dry out and die."

He adds that hoeing isn't just about speed. "If you're regularly hoeing little and often, you stop weeds from becoming established in the first place. That's far easier than dealing with large, deep-rooted weeds later in the season."

The key to all of this is timing, as hoeing works best when the soil is dry and weeds are still small. Regular light hoeing can prevent weeds from becoming established, reducing the need for more labor-intensive digging later in the season (which, basically, means a little work now will save you a massive job later).

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Unlike chemical weed killers, both digging and hoeing tackle weeds without harming the wider garden environment. They protect pollinators, preserve soil health, and eliminate the risk of accidentally damaging nearby plants (because remember: weed killers don't just affect the weeds you're targeting).

I guess the key takeaway is this: June may be peak weed season, but keeping them under control doesn't have to involve harsh chemicals (and shouldn't, if you want to do right by Mother Nature).

A combination of digging out stubborn weeds and regularly hoeing young growth can keep borders looking tidy while supporting a healthier garden ecosystem. And a few minutes spent tackling weeds each week? Well, that doesn't sound like much of a hardship if that's all it takes to stop them taking over for the rest of the summer.