AS the weather finally warms up you might be looking spend some more time in your garden but need to deal with pesky weeds first.
Of course, there are loads of different tips and tricks out there for banishing weeds, but gardening expert Alan Titchmarsh has revealed the trick he swear by - and it's totally free too.
Speaking on the Gardeners' World Magazine podcast, the pro explained how you can tackle weeds organically without breaking the bank.
First of all, you need to know what kind of weeds you're dealing with.
Annual weeds usually spring up around vegetable plots and perennial weeds are more of a problem in beds are boarders, Alan explained.
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Perennials are the ones that "get in and among our plants and are the very devil to shift," according to to gardening guru.
The right kit is important for any gardener, so get your hands on a good hoe if you don't have one already.
Alan recommended a Dutch hoe to make weeding easier - you can buy one from The Range for just £8.99, as well as other retailers, to remove annual weeds.
"It makes it easier to keep down annual weeds simply by skimming a hoe between the rows," he said.
"The important thing to do is skim, not dig," he added.
For smaller weeds he suggested using a hand fork, but there's also no reason why you can't ditch the tools altogether and pull them out by hand.
Alan's next tip is to "just keep mowing" your lawn to stop weeds from ever sprouting in the first place.
For gardening novices weeds in patios and driveways are the biggest pain to deal with.
But you don't need to reach for any harsh chemicals to banish them, in fact some boiling water from the kettle will do the trick, Alan noted.
Simply pour the hot water directly on the weeds, making sure to avoid other plants.
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"On gravel paths a bit of boiling water works a bit of magic," he said.
According to the pros at Plant Legend, boiling water does in fact kill weeds, but there's a catch.
Although the high heat and pressure of the water will help break down the structure of the weed and it's roots, it does take more than one attempt sometimes.
They explained: "There are some cons to using boiling water on weeds.
"Some of the cons include needing multiple rounds of scalding water to work, burning yourself, and you can damage nearby plants if you are not careful."
That said, although the boiling water method might not be the best for large areas or areas with plants you do want to keep, it's still a good bet for your patio.
They added: "If you try and pull the weeds out of those small spaces, you might be unable to get the entire root system.
"If that is the case, using the natural weed killer of boiling water works excellent because the liquid will go down the earth and break down the weed root structure."
