emilycompost - Celebrating gardening, plants, and weeds

Emily (who we are)

emilycompost
Weed Definition

What is a weed?

Air Potato Vine Just a plant out of place? Maybe so. "Any plant whose virtues have not been discovered" (Emerson). Maybe. "No more than a flower in disguise" (Lowell). Probably. In nature there is no such thing as a weed. So here we go.

Weeds are classified in several ways, and this is only because everyone is trying to develop some control methods.

Just as with flowers, there are annual, biennial and perennial weeds.
Annual weeds may be summer annuals or, in warmer climates, winter annual weeds.
Biennial weeds will take two years to develop. The first years growth will be near the soil, the second year the weeds will flower, produce seed, and then die. An example is wild carrot, better known as Queen Anne's Lace.
And lastly, the perennial weed has parts known as tubers or rhizomes. They will live an indefinite number of years in undisturbed areas. They can be in the soil for forty years! Studies have shown that curly dock and common mullien will germinate after 70 years. Yikes!

Why even bother naming weeds? It is the eradication most people are interested in. When herbicides are used, some chemicals are developed to be very specific. Commercial growers are most concerned.

But by merely cultivating, plowing, or mulching, one can eliminate or control most weeds in the garden or flower bed.

It is still important to be able to recognize certain weeds such as poison ivy, poison oak, poison sumac, or horse nettle (pictured above). At times they make for very unpleasant personal conditions.

Visit the Weed Science Society of America at http://www.wssa.net

You might also want to look at New Jersey Weed Gallery

Horsenettle "If dandelions were rare and fragile, people would knock themselves out to pay $14.95 a plant, raise them by hand in greenhouses, and form dandelion societies and all that. But, they are everywhere and don't need us and kind of do what they please. So we call them weeds and murder them at every opportunity".....Robert Fulgham.

Some questions from Emily's mailbox:

Q: Emily - I have this weed taking over. I think it is called Creeping Charlie but I'm not sure. The leaves look like around quarter size geranium leaves. It roots along the ground and adapts to where it is. Sun or shade, does not matter. In the grass is grows short and where the grass doesn't get cut it gets up to a foot tall. It pulls up easy enough, and any that I have weeded out went on the burn pile, not the compost pile. Unfortunately, it's now growing out of the burn pile area, and still growing where I pulled it out elsewhere. I have been yanking it for 9 years. I figure that since hand-to-hand combat has not worked by now that it may be time for chemical warfare. Is there anything you know of that would specifically kill just this?

A: Creeping geranium can be a terrible problem in the lawn. Perhaps a broad herbicide might work.....

Yes, hand dealing with it will take decades. I am fighting the battle myself. Obviously a commercial lawn care service might have the answer - with chemicals.....I tend not to go that route since the residual effects are always there. Something to think about.

Can we ever live happily with weeds.....?

Q: We have a pathway covered with pebbles about 1 inch deep that goes around and through our herb garden. We want to keep it free of weeds, with out using any toxic material. Just pulling the weeks out is a
problem because it brings up soil onto the pebbles, and ruins the path.

Any suggestions would be helpful.

A: I understand the dilemma of pulling up weeds and a lot of gravel comes with the roots. You might want to try hot boiling water or vinegar for the weeds. If the weeds are large, you may want to continually cut the weed off close to the ground. That will eventually weaken the root mass.

This is grave after thought, but if you are going to create more pathways, I would put down a layer of weed barrier and then the gravel. This works for quite a few years.

[back to Wildflowers and Weeds of the Week]