Those "weeds" have been growing there and removing nutrients from the soil so covering them with newspaper or cardboard and covering that with a mulch material and allowing them to die and put those nutreints back into the soil would be a very good idea. You could also yank them out and compost them, if you wanted to use that area sooner.
Spraying with poisons is not necessary.

"...allowing them to die and put those nutreints back into the soil would be a very good idea."

Thank you for affirming my idea. I am new to gardening. I will cut or pull what weeds I can and put them into compost. The rest I will choke with mulch.

Are there any weeds I MUST remove? I know portulaca should be fed to the chickens instead of left behind.

Remove the seed heads of any weeds.

Your plan will work & in spring don't till much, just part the straw & plant. That way you won't bring weed seeds to the surface to germinate. For sure there are weed seeds in the soil, but by putting your compost ingredients on top you're creating a weed free space. As you know chickens are pretty good at removing any seeds in straw, so any that sprout from the straw will be easy to pull.

Essentially you're sheet mulching an old practice that still works very well. We've done it for years spreading partially composted manures on the beds in fall. It is helpful to reclaim land for gardening. In the early years do not till it, but keep mulching. After 2 growing seasons you may want to till in the spring. Your soil will be amazing! Weeds are few with mulch applied.

Why pull weeds when you can smother them? I know it's not traditional agricultural methods, but it works!

"Remove the seed heads of any weeds."

Will do! Thanks Corrine. My project has begun and I'm excited to know what might grow next year.

Don't put the straw into the garbage bags....oxygen is a crucial ingredient in the composting process.

"Don't put the straw into the garbage bags....oxygen is a crucial ingredient in the composting process."

I don't want the straw to blow all over, certainly not into neighbor's yards. I have read how to compost in garbage bags, adding holes and turning them frequently. That was my plan.

Cut the area low, take a shovel and turn it over- i.e. so what was on top is on the bottom etc.- before you put anything over it forcing anything living there to have to grow through a half-dozen inches of soil or more.

The only thing that has ever worked better for me is using a sod cutter before turning it over.

I have a perennial raised bed that only has weeds in it. So I am going to compost the weeds, & add finished compost to the bed & till to turn up the seeds, chase the vole,moles & what ever out.Then till in more compost when the weeds have two leaves. Then mulch to await the Fall gardening.

I have heard, many times, that you need to mow the area in question quite low, scalping the growth. I have never found that necessary and it appears to me that if the grass and "weeds" are left relatively long that digestion takes place much quicker then if the area is scapled.
I have made numerous new planting beds simply by covering the area desired with newspaper and covering the newspaper with a mulch material to hold the paper in place. The paper deprives what was growing under it of access to the sunlight all plants need to survive and without that sunlight they will die and the Soil Food Web will digest those plants puttng them back into the soil they cam from recycling the nutrients they were using to grow.

to prevent straw from flying about - cover with moist material like coffee grounds, manure, shredded vegetative waste like grass clippings or perennial prunings, grass clippings...

or cover with burlap bags, old sheet, cardboard

if it is too dry to keep the cardboard down put rocks, bricks, or planters in corners

Have you found when moving a container the worms have gathered under it & soil is moist? That's what you create when you cover the layers.

soon the rain will come...

Thanks, again, Corrine. I can layer the straw with my grass clippings! I'm going to steal some cardboard from the neighbourhood recycling bin right now. I can't wait to plant this spot next spring!

if you put down the cardboard or newspaper and layer with straw and cut grass I'm sure you will be pleased with your soil next spring.
best of luck

After mowing the weeds last fall, I finally deep mulched my garden with shredded leaves, about a foot high.

Then after planting I added old straw. I have had the best garden ever and the least weeds ever!

Sheet mulch works great!