A weed is just a plant in a place you don't want it. Oh, the weed might not look so good. More to the point, it might rob the plants I do want of light or nutrition.
Yesterday afternoon the rain slowed enough for me to tour the garden and notice the growth of some of those unwanted plants. They were flourishing! And since I do want my fall planting to have every advantage possible, I did some weeding. It was a bit muddy, but a lot easier to get the weeds out by the root with the soil thoroughly moist. And my digging tool loosened them with ease.
I have somewhat of a divided mind about weeds. Some of what most people term weeds can be spectacularly beautiful. I have chosen to let most of the open area on our property to grow wildly, and I'm happy with the result. A spring weed that I love is the dandelion. Such a cheerful weed...and fun! Not to mention dandelion greens and wine.
Ribwort Plantain is another 'weed' that I have come to appreciate. This summer, in the process of doing some clearing, I disturbed a nest of bees that loved the black shirt I was wearing, and delivered a number of very nasty stings. My girlfriend went out to the yard, plucked some plantain, made a poultice, and welcome relief followed as I applied it.
More about natural foods, good food et al at my girlfriend's blog:
Healthy, Delicious, Cheap and Easy
Back to being of two minds about weeds. I don't go weed extermination crazy, and never with chemicals. I do, however enjoy the quiet process of removing those plants that hinder my goal of growing hyacinth bean vines, purple cabbages, summer squash (still growing) with a few carrots sprinkled in. (OK...I'm the spontaneous kind of gardener, not the organized kind)
No comments:
Post a Comment