SummaryThe reproductive strategies of two weeds,Spergula arvensisL. andPlantago majorL., were studied in relation to soil texture and moisture regime. On sandy soil, daily watering gave greatest dry wt per plant inS. arivensis, while fortnightly watering gave the greatest inP. major. InP. major, seed production was increased with increased moisture stress in sandy soil, but not in garden soil when watered fortnightly. Conversely,S. arvensisshowed a decrease in seed number with increasing moisture stress in both soil types. The reproductive effort ofS. arvensiswas much greater (26.2–63.1%) thanP. major(2.3–9.2%). There was greater emphasis on reproduction byS. arvensisunder both soil types and various moisture regimes whileP. majorwas characterized by higher allocation to vegetative structures which may confer a competitive advantage by increasing its efficiency of resource capture. Thus,S. arvensisseems to be r‐selected andP. majorK‐selected. The differences in the reproductive strategies of the two weeds are discussed with reference to the environmental conditions under which they grow in