Really stupid question about weeding.

[Pipbin]

I have a newly created bed that I have dug over and planted some stuff in.
There are now approximately one zillion seedings in the dug over soil.

How do I get rid of them? Do I let them get bigger then dig them out? Should I see what they are first?

Did you plant seeds or little plants (not sure of technical word)?

Nothing that I have planted. They have just turned up.
My garden backs onto woodland and is rather 'natural' so stuff tends to self seed all the time.

I let them get big enough that I can lift them out without the roots snapping off. I plant seeds in patterns or rows so I can tell they aren't weeds.

If you get them now they should pull out, from the base of the stem; or hoe them, and keep them on top of soil so they die in the sun (when it stops raining!)

Hoe, once a week.

Ah I see. I never really worked out how hoeing works.

I've noticed zillions of these popping up in a new bed!! It's like an invasion - seem to have appeared from nowhere!

You literally just take the hoe and you gently go backwards and forwards over the top bit of the soil, rooting up the seedlings. It's best not to do this before it rains, as some of them will re-root if you do! A short dry spell, enough to dry all the unwanteds out, helps.

This works for quite nice, friable soil. However, if you are on heavy clay that is still very blocky, mulch can be a better way as it keeps it all moist.

A chap I know who is a professional garden maintenance person swears by regular hoeing - he looks after the sorts of gardens where they like a plant surrounded by clean earth then another plant, more clean earth etc - not my messy, self-seeded/mixed up/lazy style - but hoeing is essential in your situation, to avoid full-on weeding in 2-3 weeks.

I think hoeing leads to just creating nice finely crumbley soil: a perfect seed bed for the next lot of blown in weed seeds. I would hoe, but try to only hoe the seedlings, not scratch up the whole bed if you can help it.

if you can manage to hoes once a week, at first you will be bringing existing seeds to the surface so they grow, but the weeds will never get big enough to flower and make new seeds, and you will gradually reduce the load of weed seeds in the ground.

It is also much easier to hoe ground that has been kept loose by regular hoeing.

If you have a compost heap, or a lawn, you can mulch with a layer, several inches deep, of compost or lawn mowings. It will suppress weeds growth, and any that come through are easily pulled out. Some people don't like the look of mowings. They will go brown. The mulch will rot away and the worms will take it down, you might have to do it twice a year. Dead leaves can also be used but will blow around if dry.

Don't spread the mulch thinly, if you haven't got enough, start at one end of the bed and do it thickly, do another section next time you have more.