Late spring is such a beautiful time of year. Everything is freshly leafed out. Flowers brighten even the dullest of shrubs. Even on grey, rainy Seattle spring days the beauty of spring is refreshing and almost jarringly alive. Digging into the soil awakens scurrying beetles and various milli- and centipedes. Fat worms and young tiny ones wriggle through the moist, warming soils. And, amid all of this various seasonal beauty, weeds erupt so fast we can almost watch them grow.
Weeds made up a classification of plants that I admire, sometimes more than many of the persnickety ornamentals that take years to establish and take off in the garden. Don’t get me wrong, I would prefer less weeds and more strange and wonderful oft unseen plants in my garden. But, let’s be realistic, weeds happen, and we need to figure out how to live with them — in balance.
In my own garden I have a fairly high tolerance for weeds. They pop up in abundance, and I pop them up and out as I can. This means some areas get over-run with grass weed, shot weed, chickweed, nipplewort, dandelion, fireweed, vetch, braken fern, dock weed and others periodically. But, through the years I’ve learned a few tricks for keeping each of these under control — even when I don’t have the time to eradicate every sprout right away.
For the taproot weeds like dandelion and dockweed, I avoid tugging and yanking without a tool to ensure I get the taproot out. If I pull off the top and leave the taproot intact, these plants have so much stored energy in that big root that they tend to build a stronger root system in response to my 1/2-effort weeding work. And, I end up with a stronger weed in the end — and possibly more of them!
But, sometimes I’m passing through an area of the garden, and I don’t have my tools, and I don’t have time to go grab them. Rather than leave a flowering dandelion head in place so it can spread its seed the minute I walk by, I pop off the flower or seed head and carefully dispose of it. I leave the rest of the plant intact to pull properly later. By only removing the flower/seed portion and leaving the rest of the plant intact, I avoid causing the plant to hunker in and grow stronger. Later, when I have time, I return and remove the entire weed using my garden fork and hori-hori.
If I happen by a cool season annual like shotweed, I pull them easily by hand (tool or not). Ideally, I pull them before they have set seed or the seed will fly everywhere when I pull it. If the seed flies, I likely create multiple plants in response to the single one I just removed. And, when I pull weeds like shotweed and fireweed, I am careful to deposit it into yardwaste quickly. These amazing buggers can replant themselves if they are uprooted and left in the bed.
Braken fern is a difficult bugger in my garden. Like with horsetail, which I fortunately do not do battle with in my own garden, it is one to pull and break. Yes, the broken roots will be encouraged to branch, and a new frond will pop up somewhere else. But, remember that root systems do not store infinite resources. So, by pulling regularly, you will be depriving the plant its ability to photosynthesize by which it creates its own food. Eventually, the roots will run out of energy. It might not run out in your lifetime, but we can hope, right?
Vetch is another spring nasty that winds its way through my overflowing perennial beds each spring. I do my best to trace its twining stems back to the point of origin and pop out the entire plant. When its emergence point is located, vetch is easy to pull. The problem is in finding that point! If you cannot find it, do try to remove the stems so that the plant does not set seed and spread. The good news about vetch? Bees love it, and it a nitrogen fixer. See, weeds can give back!
Bindweed (aka morning glory) is another nasty that so many of us battle. At our best, we unwind it from our trees, shrubs and flowers, and follow the vine back to the soil where it emerges. Then, we dig and follow the root to its point of origin, taking out every last bit. Yes, I’m laughing too. Getting every last bit is nearly impossible when the root dives down suddenly several feet and travels under our neighbor’s retaining wall. But, we do our best. Remember, it takes just a tiny bit of this root for the vine to re-emerge. And, a broken root means a branching root. So, if you break it and leave it in place, more than one shoot may emerge next time. But, keep pulling and consider this one to starve.
Grass weeds, like so many others, have an uncanny ability to adapt to every spot where their seeds land. These plants can grow in a lawn where it is mowed regularly. In this situation, the weed may only grow to 2″ tall before it sets seed and spreads. Then, in another garden bed, the same plant may grow 2′ tall before it sets seed and spreads. Some have roots that travel while others have shallow rooted roots that stay intact. Try your best to pull the entire plant, roots and all, to reduce the likelihood that you’re pulling in the same place a few weeks later. All over Seattle, grass weeds are thriving in the cool, wet weather that alternates every few days with warm sunshine. Ideally, pull them before the seed begins to disperse and the soil hardens in summer. For those with travelling roots, do your best to get all the roots!
Truly, weeds are adaptable. And, unfortunately, the slugs and weevils don’t seem to favor them. Ah, that we could put the fauna pests to work in eradicating the flora pests! Now is the time to get out and pull the weeds from your beds. If you have only a few weeds, pull them before you end up with a field of them. If you already have a field of them, set aside a few hours and eradicate them before the weather changes toward summer.
Right now, as we continue to receive abundant rains, our soils are still loose and easy to work. Ideally, remove deeply rooted weeds several hours after a good rainfall. This will ensure that the soil isn’t completely saturated. Having it moist but drained will reduce your compaction impact and will make pulling weeds easier.
Don’t have time to pull all those seedy weeds? Consider, at the very least, removing the seed heads to reduce the weed’s ability to spread its progeny. And, put a note on your calender to get out and pull them soon after or you’ll be repeating the cycle in no time.
Wondering about using weed killers? I’m not an advocate of applying herbicides in the garden. Yes, there are some instances where a one-time treatment may be necessary. However, I do not believe that they should be used as a regular method to control weeds. Frankly, when I see a garden with beds devoid of any weeds, I avoid it as I would a toxic waste dump. Sure, it may seem easiest to apply a chemical to the garden to do your chores for you. But, I’m not going to advocate for this. And, really, I think that’s a whole other discussion for another time. What I will leave you with is my belief that we become healthier by working with the soil and the garden. Our children learn and our pets thrive in a diverse garden space devoid of chemicals. So get out there, breathe in the clean, fresh fragrance of spring. Dig your fingers in the soil. Embrace the earth. Grow!