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Are weeds taking over your gardens? Do you avoid said gardens because the thought of removing those weeds seems like too daunting a task? Here, hopefully, I'll share some secrets of mine on how to handle those weeds.
Weeds. Basically, plants growing where you don't want them. This can be subjective though. My friend in New Zealand was complaining about the weeds growing in her garden, Nasturtiums, of all things. This is ironic because I just ordered Nasturtium seeds to grow IN my garden. Which proves the point, one man's weed could be another man's sought after treasure. The lady that lives next door considers Cat Nip a weed, I let it grow because, well, I have 6 cats. Even your good old lawn grass, if it decides to grow outside of the lawn, suddenly becomes an unwelcome weed. Mom and I are always arguing about the Milkweeds. I like them, she thinks they are weeds and will yank them on sight. I think I won the battle this past summer though, when I pointed out a few Monarch butterfly caterpillars on my highly guarded patch, now she wants some in her third of the garden. Thank you monarchs!!
Controlling weeds can be difficult at best. Every area in the world has native plants that spread by seeds, roots, berries, etc. Yes, most weeds are just native wild plants, or in some cases accidently introduced species, that have the nerve to grow in our carefully tended gardens. Birds, mice, squirrels, chipmunks, the wind, all aid in the spreading of these plants. Of course, the guy across the road who never mows his lawn doesn't help either.
Your best bet for controlling weeds is to pull them before they get a head start on you, like they did in the picture above. Remember the old saying, "One years seed will give seven years weeds". If you do not have a lot of time though, this can be difficult. If pulling weeds singly, try to get the entire root system. I always have my little garden trowel in hand, I leave it at the back door and grab it every single time I go outside, it is a permanent extension of my arm in the summer. .
The best method for me, when dealing with a large patch of weeds, like you would see in a new garden bed that has been dug but not planted, is to turn them over with a shovel. Bury the little devils. If you are feeling extra energetic, you could pick them up while they are laying helpless, give them a little shake and mulch them. This isn't really necessary since just being buried, and I mean absolutely no green showing on the surface, will mulch them naturally. This is also how I edge my beds, I take the shovel and turn over a few inches all along the edge. Keeps any encroaching lawn at bay.
Having a dog helps. When I got my dog Sandi I found weeding the gardens easier. Every time she needed to be taken outside, which can be many, many times a day, I would walk her along a different section of flower bed. She would sniff around and do her business, I would enjoy the beauty of the flowers and pull any weeds I saw.
There are many different kinds of mulch available. These help, to a point. Eventually, the weeds will grow. Usually when you aren't looking. A friend of mine spent an amazing amount of money and bought herself some pretty red mulch. Spent days putting it in her flower beds, 6 inches deep. I just smiled. I have to admit, it looked great, but by the end of the summer, it looked a lot like the hayfield out back.
Identifying weeds is a whole other problem. I found many weed identification web-sites with a quick "Google". It really depends on your area of the world. The ones I found included Feverfew and Foxglove in their list of nasty weeds. These two, for me, are highly sought after. I can only suggest that you get to know your native plants. Knowing what Annuals and Perennials you have in your gardens is helpful here too. When I see something that I know I did not plant, and it looks nothing like any of its neighbours, I start to think weed. Then I start to run through the list of known weeds in my head, clover, alfalfa, nettle, burdock, dandelion, etc. If I cannot identify it as a weed, I will leave it be, let it grow some, and when it flowers I will decide if it's a weed or something I might like to keep. The birds have brought me some nice surprises over the years. Mullein is one of these surprises I decided to keep. Cardinal Flower(Lobelia cardinalis) is another. You see, weeds aren't always a bad thing. Daisies and Brown -eyed Susans are other so-called weeds that I allow to grow in my gardens. They grow fast, bloom profusely and make nice tall fillers between other Perennials.
It only takes a few minutes a day to keep ahead of the weeds. The more you weed, the fewer weeds you will have. By the middle of the summer, I really have to look hard to find a weed to pull. The more you pull, the fewer you will have.Take a stroll with your morning coffee. Walk the dog instead of just opening the door for him/her. Don't look at weeding as a nasty chore, you will be less likely to get it done. Look at weeds as the possibility of a new treasure.
For more ideas, our very own Dave has a wonderful video about Weeds here.
Many thanks to my friend Slant in anew Zealand, who gladly shared with me some of her weeds.....
About Lee Anne Stark
I am an avid gardener who shares my gardens with 2 other equally avid gardeners. I garden for fun and relaxation, never paying attention to the rules!! During the long, cold winter months I occupy my time playing with over a hundred house plants, my six cats and two dogs.
Posted by Tim_in_Iowa (from Underwood, IA) on February 27, 2008 at 11:05 PM:
A few native "weeds" such as Goldenrod, Ironweed, Lead Plant, and Milkweed have snuck into my perrenial garden. If kept under control they look great. It's funny to see some of these same plants being sold in garden catalogs.
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Subject: no such thing
Posted by sarwiz (from Merrillville, IN) on February 27, 2008 at 5:11 PM:
'em ain't weeds, 'em 'r' crops!
everything that people are calling "weeds" these days are really very medicinal and healthful herbs (almost everything). I let them grow, and harvest them when I am ready to make a tincture or a salad, or some other remedy.
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Subject: clover weeds
Posted by TammyE (from Santa Maria, CA) on February 27, 2008 at 2:44 AM:
Is clover good for the soil. I heard that they put nitrogen back into the soil? I have a lot of them in my yard. I have been turning them back into the soil. Should I be doing something else?
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Posted by threegardeners (from North Augusta, ON) on February 27, 2008 at 7:52 AM:
I'd be pulling, or digging in up, and tossing it in the mulch bi if you have one. I notice when I turn it under, if it isn't completely covered, it will grow again.
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Subject: Weeds
Posted by EvaSchulze (from Evant, TX) on February 25, 2008 at 6:09 PM:
It isn't so much the weeds I have a problem with--it's that ever-present bermuda grass which someone before me planted!
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Posted by threegardeners (from North Augusta, ON) on February 25, 2008 at 6:13 PM:
ugh...sounds like our quack grass.
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Subject: Compost recovery
Posted by gamekeeper (from New Boston, NH) on February 25, 2008 at 3:34 PM:
I was always turned off by composting as I always thought of it as having to use a drum etc and it being an additional process which I had no time for .Afew years ago I started an unorthodox form of composting.I live in an old house on a steep hill over the years several areas of the yard got neglected and had considerable errosion and just rough rocky areas unuseable.Thus I had my lawn man dump all the clippings and leaves in the area and being handy to the house I take all the house coffee grounds dog poop etc and put it there aswell .Then a couple times a year I order 2000 redwiggler worms on line and they completely devour leaves and all the area is now a favorite spot I turned into a shade garden.I have done this to other areas on the property aswell with great success.
Peter
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Subject: newspaper
Posted by magoo2 (from Fernandina Beach, FL) on February 25, 2008 at 1:09 PM:
Use your shredded newspaper, or wet newspapers, before you add mulch.
Stops weeds..
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Posted by monalisa51 (from Stoneville, NC) on February 26, 2008 at 5:37 PM:
I use newspapers also. They are simply great and free after being read, so..... I planted two walkways about 10 years ago, one side with wet newspapers and beautiful small white stone on top. Other side with a roll of the material that is suppose to keep weeds out. Nope, my newspaper kept for 10 years, a few tiny straglers now and again. The other side had weeds popping through in no time, what a mess, with all my beautiful landscaping stone all dotted with weeds all of the time. So recycle and save time and money and be weed free! I have found it to be the best preventive there is so far.
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Subject: Weeding
Posted by rvnsbrk (from Leesburg, VA) on February 25, 2008 at 8:37 AM:
As a landscaper I do a lot of weeding for my clients. I actually love to weed. What is hard to make them understand though is mulching. Mulching helps to keep the weeds at bay, but if you don't still pull up the strays, you will only end up with the best mulched weeds in the county! Trying to get people to understand that is hard. As my Grandmother always said " See a weed, pull up two. Soon a pretty garden will belong to you."
Juanita
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Posted by doccat5 (from Fredericksburg, VA) on February 25, 2008 at 8:45 AM:
Great article, and so true. If you get on top of them and stay with it, the weed problem becomes almost no problem. Besides it can be a pleasant time to spend outside enjoying your garden.
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Posted by tucsonjill (from Tucson, AZ) on February 25, 2008 at 12:19 PM:
Neat article, I enjoyed it a lot. I actually love pulling weeds--such a feeling of accomplishment!
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Posted by darius (from Marion, VA) on February 25, 2008 at 2:45 PM:
So maybe there is HOPE for an 'almost' weed-free garden?
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Posted by Sharran (from Calvert City, KY) on February 25, 2008 at 5:26 PM:
Great article, and there are some "weeds" that I love too.
Thanks.
Foxglove in their list of nasty weeds. These two, for me, are highly sought after. I can only suggest that you get to know your native plants. Knowing what Annuals and Perennials you have in your gardens is helpful here too. When I see something that I know I did not plant, and it looks nothing like any of its neighbours, I start to think weed. Then I start to run through the list of known weeds in my head, clover, alfalfa, nettle, burdock, dandelion, etc. If I cannot identify it as a weed, I will leave it be, let it grow some, and when it flowers I will decide if it's a weed or something I might like to keep. The birds have brought me some nice surprises over the years. 
