A cultivation operation that consists in preparing the soil as if for direct seeding or transplanting, but without actually doing so, in order to create conditions conducive to weed growth. Then, when the weeds have sprouted a few days later and are at the “white thread” stage, i.e. just a few centimetres tall and with white stems, they are killed with a hoe. As the Queen of Hearts would say in Alice in Wonderland: “Off with their heads!”
