Question: I have so many weeds growing that I wonder if I need new soil? – Shirley R.

Answer: Hi Shirley, I get this question a lot so I’m glad you asked! I noticed you wrote that you have raised beds connected to the ground. The reality is that if you replace the soil, at some point, within a year or two, the weed seeds will find their way to your new soil.

The best thing to do is to scuff the soil in your garden around your plants once or twice a week to keep the germinated weed seeds from rooting too deeply. Scuffing the soil is the process of taking a hoe (I like a collinear hoe myself), and roughing up the top few inches of soil.

Now for rhizome spreading weeds, this can be a bit more challenging. For most of them, if you keep carefully pulling them up from the ground, you’ll eventually get rid of them. If you have something invasive or persistent like crabgrass, you may need to dig larger chunks of soil out and remove it completely. Then keep a close eye and pull any new weeds that come up.

You can also try to solarize your soil. It doesn’t always work if the roots are super deep, but many people get success with this method. You’ll need to take the hottest part of the season to do this, so you won’t be able to grow crops in the bed during this time. Keep in mind that if you choose this method, you’ll want to replenish the beneficial microbes afterwards with fresh compost. I hope this helps, Shirley!