Weeds

Weeds... There are lots of them in our yard. What approach to take can be confusing. Do I poison them? (With kids and a future veggie garden in the works, this is not my preference). I could take the old fashioned manual labor route and yank/dig them out. Wen doing so I usually end up taking out clumps of earth, too, which in a sloping yard, makes me nervous for erosion. Then I read somewhere about spraying them with vinegar. Might be worth a try. Can't hurt, right? I won't be affecting my soil (like with poison), will I?

Then the long term question of what to really do about the slopes full of grass and weeds. They are too steep to mow, so it's kind of strange there's grass on them anyways. A friend mentioned thyme. I'll have to look into that in terms of how tall does it grow (don't want it to look unruly), but that sounds like an interesting idea - fragrant, decent looking. Or ivy, perhaps. There's a little growing already. The characteristics I want: no maintenance, good looking. Too much to ask for? I hope not!