• get rid of the tiny weed seedlings
• keep the soil loose on top - so reducing the number of weeds which grow because they find it hard to germinate in loose, dry soil. Also loose soil will be easy to hoe in the future.

TopVeg used a small hand rake as a hoe. It is important to work the hoe in a shallow layer of soil, so that the roots of the shallots are not disturbed.

The shallots have grown well in the last week.

It is a shame that the shallots have grown in an uneven fashion.

Using a hoe when the weeds are tiny, before the weeds start to compete with the shallots, will also make life easier in the future.