This is going to sound crazy but another way to get rid of weeds is to pull them out! No need to use fuel to boil water or buy lemons. For large areas you can use a hoe. Told you it would sound crazy!

1) pull 'em up
2) place in compost bin
3) weeds miraculously gone

The best way I found to get rid of weeds is this little $6 weeder*: http://www2.fiskars.com/Products/Yard-and-Garden/Weeders/Softouch-R-Weeder

*Disclaimer: Requires work on your hands and knees.

The above methods will work only if the weeds are growing at a safe distance from your annuals and perennials, which my weeds cannot be instructed to do. It may work for weeds growing between pavers or along the sides of a driveway. I've done some silly things while gardening, but I don't see myself going around the yard with a pot of boiling water to spot kill weeds.

Pulling the weeds by hand is not an option: a) if you have back or knees issues, b) have a large area of garden or lawn and a neighbourhood covered in weeds c) do not have 10 hours every weekend to devote to weed pulling.

weeding takes alot of time and they are back the next week. Sprinkling corn meal actually prevents new weeds from growing and does not affect your existing plants.

"Pulling the weeds by hand is not an option..."

That's what children are for.

The vinegar works for about a week; then the weeds re-emerge as if to say "ha ha!". I haven't tried the other methods suggested in this article. Hand-plucking is my means of choice, especially for the safety of our indoor-outdoor cat. We hired a landscaper to redo our front yard last year. He uses this cool tool for just about everything (which I now own and use):
http://www.lowes.com/pd_248710-48340-2500800_6 4294857294_?productId=3028004&Ntt=garden%20tool&Ntk=i_products&Ns=p_product_rating|0&pl=1&currentURL=/pl_Garden%2BTools_6%204294857294__s?Ntk=i_products$Ntt=garden%20tool$Ns=p_product_rating|0

Be careful about tossing weeds in the compost bin if they've already gone to seed, unless you want more weeds next year when you distribute the compost.

Weed cloth might be not super-environmentally friendly since it is made of plastic, but it is a great non-chemical solution if you have a large expanse of weeds to contend with. Lay down the weed cloth and dump bark dust or gravel down on top. Pay extra for the bark dust with fewer slivers. This will solve the problem for a couple of years until it rots away.

Long term, weeds will find any patch of soil that doesn't have something growing on it already. There's always grass, but if you're anti-lawn like me, ground cover is a good solution. Here in rainy, temperate Portland, vinca minor is my favorite because it spreads quickly, is evergreen, can handle sun and shade and has pretty purple flowers. The occasional dandelion still pokes through, but nothing that can't be managed.

About the corn meal method, it is corn *gluten* meal that is used - and it has to be done at a certain time of the year/growing cycle to work.

The death-by-teakettle method works great for weeds in pavement cracks and crevices, especially.

I have back and knee issues, and I hand weed, a bit at a time, as I spot the little devils.

For the poison ivy that invaded my brand new back yard, though, I liberally used highly toxic poison ivy killer. I am NOT messing around with that stuff! Dandelions can be dug (if you pull them, the roots usually break off and they come right back.) Most other weeds can be yanked.

If the whole yard is overrun, and they are really weeds (not, say, violets which are beautiful wildflowers...) you are probably better off killing the whole mess off with black plastic held down with rocks for a few weeks. When the heat from the sun and lack of watering bake off the plants, remove the plastic, rake the dead plants up, and reseed with grass seed or wildflower mix or whatever.

i bought this last year:

http://tinyurl.com/d9sdpn

while i do break some dandelion roots - most come right out. i do a little every day and i seem to be winning the war - so far.

If you have a large area with weeds see if you can borrow a neighbor's goat. Goats are awesome for eating weeds and other greenery that you do not want.

Goats also like poison ivy and poison oak. Just tie the goat to the targeted shrub and in a day it all leaves and most soft twigs will be gone. But make sure to buy some good dog washing soap and give Billy a nice scrub afterwards to prevent his fur from retaining the toxic sap. Make sure to wear plastic gloves.

There is also something called solarization. Basically you take black plastic and completely cover the area to be "weeded." If the sun is out, in about a week you will have not only killed all the weeds but also killed the seeds.

Give some consideration as to why the weeds are there in the first place. Weeds grow in soil that "needs something." After removing the offenders, plant something you want in the area and make sure you add a thick layer of mulch to encourage beneficial soil organisms and start creating "good" soil. In nature bare soil is unnatural.

A big bed full of weeds can look overwhelming - but there's no need to resort to poisons or potions. Even my 80 year old mother with two artificial hips can pull weeds. It's like eating an elephant. Just do it one bite at a time.

My weeding routine is at daybreak, while I'm having coffee and getting acclimated to consciousness. Weeding slows down the input of stimulus, focuses attention on a small area, and really lets me get to know my garden.

I don't think it's too strong a statement to say that (for me) weeding is a meditation that turns the volume down on ego, shuts out the begging of tasks undone, and lets me really see what's in front of my eyes. I'm made friends with some weeds, getting to know them and letting them grow into beautiful plants. I love it when visitors ask me where that wonderful exotic flora came from.

How many other problems do you have in your life that you can look at, touch, and end with your own fingers?

@bepsf,

Your comment brought back horrible memories of endless weeding of an ACRE garden that I weeded as a kid. Mosquitoes the size of golf balls, 100 degree heat. I didn't even like CUT flowers for 10 years after...

*shudder*

A lot of weeds can actually be eaten, and are really super good for you... dandelions are a great spring tonic, and the entire plant can be eaten. Wild lettuce is a great mild sedative for insomnia. Nettles are delicious in soups and stir fry, and are great for nourishing the adrenals and the kidneys and combat allergies too! Purslane is delicous in salads. Chickweed is also delicious. Poison oak, on the other hand... I don't know what I'd do with that :).

I used to do a big weeding session, then catch the stragglers as they came up, but come late spring they're impossible to keep up with, so I put down a stone mulch instead, and now it's much more manageable.

Also, the book "weedless gardening" (I can't remember the name of the author) had a few good tips that I now implement, and really have very few weed issues at all anymore. Except the nettles... but I grow them on purpose.

I will continue to use pesticides, it is the only thing that works.

The reason the weeds are there in the first place is because my neighbourhood is covered in weeds and the seeds blow into my front yard.

My front yard was landscaped a few years ago with plants appropriate for my climate. All grass was removed and rich soil and bark mulch professionally installed.

The weeds have a field day. For every one I pull out, three more grow.

Bring on the pesticide.

@fairybekk - Thanks for pointing that out. I was going to say the same thing. If you can't beat them....eat them!

peachpie: I think you mean herbicides - probably glyphosate, the active ingredient in Roundup. It has a place, I use it for tenacious grasses in cracks on cement drives and walks that won't pull cleanly.

Can't agree with your statement as to why the weeds are in your yard and that glysophate is the only thing that works. You're making a choice that has benefits and consequences for you and your neighborhood. Other choices are available. It's your yard, but it's a shared watershed that's getting the runoff from your heavy herbicide application.

I don't know you or your situation, but intellectual honesty requires recognizing the difference between something you have to do and something you choose to do. My Libertarian slant says that it's all up to you what happens in your yard. I don't fertilize turf to keep the algae bloom potential down for our waterfront neighborhood, but plenty of my neighbors do. I guess we'll figure it out when we have a shared problem, it hasn't manifested yet. You have the power.

I do agree with the less intrusive measures stated above, but there certainly is a time and a place for an herbicide like "Roundup". It's been banned here in the GTA (Greater Toronto Area due to "ONTARIO'S COSMETIC PESTICIDES BAN ACT"), but its still one of the best ways to get rid of noxious weeds.
I am presently overwhelmed by invasive weeds in the 4 foot perimeter that surrounds my backyard, asphalt parking area. I mentioned to my downstairs neighbour that I was going to use it and he vehemently opposed the idea, based on the future heath of his dog (which never ventures off the asphalt, btw).

My plan had been to turn this wilderness into a xeriscape of sustainable, non invasive native plants and a small patio for both of us to use...I really wish I'd just done it...the dog would be healthy still and I wouldn't be staring at an uncontrolable mess right now.