We have a large garden, mostly non lawn too, so there is a lot of area to cover. I always take a hand trowel out with me, and one glove! but the main job is dome with mt hands as my nails will testify! The trowel and glove are for the nettles that seem impossible to erradicate. They grow in under the fence from the fields around us and of course the seed blows in from outside too, having dense hedgerows doesn't stop them.
However being a cottage style garden means the plants grow tight together and don't leave the weeds much room, and hides them from view anyway!!. A session of weeding in spring, followed by a heavy mulch keeps the annual weeds under control. Nettles, Dock and dandylions are not so easily discouraged though and break the roots and you have two new ones where there was one so they do need careful extraction. I weed after a heavy rainfall and then in our light soil they do just pull out.
All of that works for the ornamental garden and the soft fruit area but the veg garden with long straight rows and no mulch asks for the and gets the hoe between the rows. The hands have to come out when I get close to the actual plants - the tool takes no prisoners!
If you pull them right near the base when they are young there is less spines.......I'll use the trowel though for plants that don't want to pull....like a clump of feverfew I just took out earlier to make room for a nice new aster.
