Pulling them out is good, but new ones will certainly sprout. otoh, with a plot so small, a weekly go-over with a hoe should take care of them easily.

With a temporary plot, a lot of the things gardeners do to improve soil would be a waste of effort in your case. You could dig in about 3# of a complete balanced fertilzer like Garden Tone. Or you could take the path of feeding the crop, not the soil. What are you planning to grow? Some crops want a lot of nitrogen, others won't do well with it. Side-dressing the plants as they grow will help you make a more intensive planting work out.

Thanks. In that case, I'll just pull out weeds as they appear. I'm planning on starting modest, a couple of tomato plants, two pepper plants, a zucchini, a yellow squash, and 1-2 Japanese eggplants. Does that sound like too much? Also, what does "side dressing" mean?

Here you go.

Here is a link that might be useful: How to side-dress garden vegetables

You'll always have weeds unless you mulch, but if you are going a few times a week to check on things, it's no problem to just remove the pop-ups. Sometimes I just scuff them with my shoe or gently cut off their heads with the loop hoe. :-) Have fun with your garden!

Those plants all want a balanced fertilizer. It's a lot of plant for 40 square feet, with two full-sized squashes, so you'll want to feed them well.

Follow tilton's advice on fertilizer, and because it's organic go ahead and start mixing it in so it will have time to convert its riches and start feeding the soil right away.

For weeding, outfit yourself with a sharp Cobrahead or a small, sharp triangle hoe. Armed with a precision weeding tool, keeping up with your small space will be a joy.

Like what was said you'll have to mulch because there are 100s of weed seeds in the soil already.

What has worked for me recently when doing a garden at our camp's nature center with lots of weeds is make a path down the middle to divide into 2 plots that are 2 1/2 feet by your 8 foot length going north to south, so plants don't shade one another too much. Divide it how you please, but no wider than 4 feet because you can't reach across it to tend. That way you don't step on the garden beds and compact them.

Shovel soil from the path to the sides to make 2 raised beds.

Then spread straw, wood chips, wood shavings, pelleted sawdust as sold as horse bedding or wood stove fuel, shredded paper or cardboard, upside down carpet, burlap, etc. in that middle pathway. I've often filled the gap all the way so the soil doesn't wash down into the path and my kids didn't say my mounded beds look like graves. Just don't mix up the soil with the path material or it robs the nitrogen from the soil.

Before you add your final amount of pathway material you might want to add a good layer about 3-6" of weed-free compost or planting mix on the surface and plant transplants right through it to then top with mulch. Try to avoid mixing up the soil and bringing weed seeds up to the surface. Just use a tool or your hand to poke into the soil and insert the seedling. A putty knife is a great planter to stab into the soil & rock back and forth to open it up a bit without stirring, then gently push the soil back. When you water the seedlings in gently the soil will smooth itself out around the plants.

One way to check compost for weed seeds is to put in clear plastic bags to encourage seed sprouting if there are any in there. Roll the bag around to stir things up every few days and after a few weeks it will be weed free. Bagged compost isn't always weed free, but usually less weeds than homemade uncovered compost.

Used coffee grounds mixed with dried brown grass clippings spread over sheets of newspaper on moist soil are easy free mulches that reduce weed sprouting.

IF you DIRECT SEED your garden be sure to use a bagged weed free compost or planting mix to top the bed or row before planting or you won't know weeds from sprouts. Squashes are easy to tell from weeds, so you can direct seed them.

Transplants might be easiest way to go this first planting, then you will know what sprouts are weeds & pull them right away. Mulching will help a lot, too, because weed seeds get blown in from the surrounding area.

Once you learn what the plant sprouts look like you'll be able to direct seed your garden.

Hope that helps, Corrine