How to tell a weed from a vegetable plant is a common problem for new gardeners.

The definition of a weed is a plant out of place. So a weed is only a weed if you don’t want it there.

If you have planted a row of vegetable seeds, anything growing out of the row may be classed as a weed. It is therefore important to:

• be organised
• mark rows at either end with prominent sticks
• keep the distance between rows at least the width of your hoe
• hoe regularly between rows, shallowly, as soon as you see leaves emerging

Watch the vegetable plants within the row. Hopefully your seeds will all emerge at about the same time, and look similar. Any rogue plants can be pulled out.