(Photo:  I used to try to eliminate all weed growth — an awful lot of unnecessary work!)

Weed Wisdom

Weeds compete with vegetables for nutrients, sun, and root room in all garden plots or pots. Weeding is time consuming, labour intensive, and frustrating because weeds will return.  Nature always dresses in green as soon as she finds soil naked. However, she will accept, temporarily, any coverings that we can provide.

Weed Facts

(Photo:  2 weeks worth of weed growth)

  • Weed seeds survive in the ground for a great many years. Tilling the soil every spring brings them to the surface where they enjoy both sun and water. In addition, weed seeds can migrate into your garden (wind, surface water on the move, birds, clothing) at any time.
  • Weeds come in waves at various times in the season and some come in more than one wave (e.g. crabgrass, dandelion, plantain, purslane, galinsoga, lamb’s quarters, ragweed).
  • Some weeds can hurt you:  some sting (e.g. nettles), some have sap that is light sensitive and will blister skin when exposed to sunlight (e.g. wild parsnip, giant hogweed), some have thorns (e.g. thistle), some cause an itchy rash (e.g. poison ivy), some can cause allergic reactions (e.g. ragweed), and some are poisonous to eat (e.g. deadly nightshade).
    Tip: Wear gloves, beware of sap on clothing which may transfer to your skin, and don’t compost these!

Permit Useful Weeds?

  • Some weeds are edible if grown on pollution free ground and they can increase your harvest (e.g., purslane, pig weed, dandelion, & plantain).
  • Weeds are a source of food for beneficial insects, attracting both pollinators and predators.
  • Weeds gather nutrients from various depths and they convert to plant-ready food when they die. Dead weeds give back water soluble nutrients slowly like slow acting medication.
  • Weeds, alive or dead, provide ground cover to prevent soil erosion.
  • Weeds can suggest soil conditions:  some indicate a lack or an abundance of certain nutrients, and some weeds tell if the soil is too compacted or too wet.
  • Some weeds are especially helpful in composting (e.g. Stinging Nettles, Comfrey).

Possible solutions

A — If the soil must be tilled every year,

  1. Try the A-B-C method: (A) till the soil in early spring to bring weed seeds to surface, (B) weed carefully and  thoroughly just before planting (e.g. week before May 24th), and (C) minimal or shallow digging at planting so as not to bring more weed seeds to the surface.  After germination or seedling transplants, add mulch.
  2. Try weeding vigorously for 3 weeks in the spring followed by shallow digging when planting. Weed pressure falls off by the third week, and only light weeding weekly follows.  Add Mulch.
    Tip: A stirrup hoe is excellent for fast weeding of large areas. It cuts weeds ½ inch under the soil, and it cuts on both the push and pull stroke. When I demonstrated mine, two different gardeners left their plots immediately to go buy stirrup hoes.
  3. Try “cut and drop.” Cut or pull weeds without seeds
  4. and drop them on to the walkways to nourish the soil as they decompose.
    Tip: Avoid walking on the pulled weeds right after a rain as your feet may push the weed roots into the mud and the weeds will be born-again! (Photo:  cut-and-drop or pull seedless weeds and leave them in the garden)
  5. Try planting in both the rows and the walkways. This deprives weeds of light and room to grow. However, note that some weeds (e.g. galinsoga) will grow nevertheless. Two challenges are the lack of room for the gardener to work and the awkward reach over adjacent rows to get at the weeds that do grow.(Photo:  experiment – beans between carrots – galinsoga & purslane, pulled & dropped, still invaded)
  6. To suppress weeds, try various mulches. Form rows and put corn gluten or organic mulch (leaves, straw, bark, wood chips, cut weeds without seeds, grass clippings, etc.) into the walkways to cover the soil and prevent seeds from germinating.(Photo:  garden mulched with straw)
  7. Tip:  fill the soil dishes under plants like tomatoes and current bushes with last fall’s shredded leaves to reduce troublesome weeding and to retain moisture.
  8. For a stronger anti-weed solution, consider an underlay of cardboard or newspaper, and cover it over with leaves, cut weeds, grass clippings, bark, or wood chips to hide it.
  9. Tip: don’t put soil, manure, or compost on top as it only becomes a new weed bed for migrating weed seeds as well as squirrel gardening and cat toileting.
    Note, an underlay of landscape fabric or plastic can be used, but they will slowly disintegrate, and you will have to remove them or pieces of them at season’s end.  Do not use old carpet in the garden; it leaches chemicals as it disintegrates.  Cardboard and newspaper are eco-friendly; they decompose and contribute to the soil composition.

B — If tilling is a choice, try no-till gardening:

  1. Arrange the plot into permanent planting rows and walkways. Preserve the walkways between rows for next season and each season disturb the soil only in the rows that are to be planted. Walkways can be boards, straw, patio stones, leaves, weeds, grass, bark, etc. Because the rows have not been stepped on, there is no need to till the soil before planting. Shallow or minimum digging in the plant rows prevents the churning up of weed seeds every year. (Photo:  permanent walkways of shredded leaves and permanent earth rows with furrows)
    Tip: Water and fertilize the rows every year, not the walkways.
  2. For a more permanent solution, form the plot into a series of raised beds (e.g. rectangular frames of boards, logs, stones, etc.) with walkways between, and farm the beds by reaching in from the sides. Permanent walkways can be dirt, grass, patio stones, gravel, board walks, or nature’s choice. (Photo: raised beds with permanent walkways)


    (Photo: permanent paths of nature’s choice and sides of shale – Newfoundland)

Weeds will be far fewer in beds not tilled.

Container weeds – far fewer than in in-ground plots – can be pulled every 2nd week. Weeds in containers compete for the limited food, water, and root room.  Note: if pulling weeds will unsettle plants or uproot seedlings at the same time, scissor or prune the weeds at soil level so as to leave seedlings and plants undisturbed.

What is your weed tolerance?

We all know that chemical solutions cause a bad ripple effect far beyond the garden. Chemicals (liquid or powder insecticides, fungicides, herbicides, & anti-bacterial sprays) contaminate the soil, the ground water, and eventually our rivers. They also can hurt the birds, bees, and bugs we need in our gardens.

Weeding without chemicals is labour intensive, and end-of-month weed warriors may experience physical and emotional stress, mumble words we won’t print, and miss out on the joys of organic gardening! However, using particular mulches, permanent walkways, permitted weeds, and light weeding weekly can contribute greatly to enjoyable organic gardening!

Enjoy working with Weeds!