Post #38 Weeds are Everywhere!
Post Description: How to deal with diseases in a sustainable way.
Gardener beware!
When you plant a garden, it can feel like weeds are everywhere and they will never give up or go away! You design your garden, gather your seeds, seedlings, and starts, and then… you realize how much weed remediation must be done to clear space for the plants you WANT to grow there.
Or perhaps you have been growing your garden for several seasons, then one season you are busy and the garden is not top of mind. You may come back to find you are now gardening weeds, and lots of them. They grow fast here in South Florida and they are serious opportunists.
What is a weed?
The definition of a weed is a plant growing where you don’t want it. Make sure to identify weeds that keep coming back. They may actually be useful, and if they thrive in your yard, you may as well make peace with those.
Some are even deliciously edible; you can keep those under control by harvesting them for food! But there are also many plants that will make your gardening life miserable if you let them.
Most weeds are annuals, though we do have invasive trees and shrubs that will slip in if you aren’t careful. Keep an eye out and pull these as soon as you see them or they will get big and be hard to take out later. Even palm trees will seed from surrounding yards. Again, these quickly become hard to remove. Bottom line, if you identify a sprout as a weed, pluck it, roots and all, immediately!
Garden Plants That Pop Up Everywhere
Some garden plants are not exactly invasive, or are not yet officially listed as such, but they sucker so badly they are really hard to keep in bounds. If you really love a plant like this, give it its own bed far from others and use a barrier around it that goes down at least 12” deep. Otherwise, the roots will find the next bed and it will pop up there, too.
Many Heliconias do this, as do blackberries (Rubus spp.), Snow on the Mountain (Snowbush, Breynia distichia) and Shooting Star Clerodendrum (Clerodendron quadriloculare).
How Do You Get Rid of Weeds Once and For All?
Culling weeds every season, or every time they pop up, will yield them less prolific over time, and with diligence, may eventually eradicate them completely.
Depending on the plant, there are two main ways weeds will spawn future generations if you’re not paying attention.
The first is if you let them go to seed. So again, as soon as you identify a sprout as a weed, pull it, don’t wait. If it gets old enough to go to flower, even if the flower is gorgeous, pull it! After flowers come seeds, and unless you want a garden bed filled with something you didn’t choose, nip it in the bud, quite literally.
The second is weeds that regrow from roots or stems. Do not pull these and assume it is fine to compost in place, you will come back to a bigger patch than you had before! You must also dig deep to ensure you get the entire root system, otherwise they will most decidedly pop up again, and oftentimes stronger than before.
A useful way to dispose of these sorts of weeds is to throw them in a 5 gallon bucket filled with water and let it sit for a few weeks. The nutrients will diffuse into a nice compost tea to feed the plants you want to grow.
Getting Rid of Noxious, Deadly, and Invasive Weeds
These weeds must be dealt with differently than the run of the mill varieties. They are dangerous and considered injurious not only to people and animals, but to the natural environment and native ecosystems by the US Department of Agriculture.
To eradicate these weeds you must dig out every last bit of root and destroy them. First use them to make compost tea, then throw it in the trash, burn it, or bucket-compost it. Never put them in a regular compost pile or allow them to remain in a bed. As soon as you see them appear in any bed, deep-dig it out and demolish them.
Well meaning friends or uninformed plant nurseries may unknowingly offer you cuttings of invasive plants. Always do your research when getting new plants, do not assume that they are not invasive. And if you find out they are, please kindly inform the friend or nursery to stop the spread of these plants in our fragile ecosystem.
What have your experiences been with invasive plants? You know we love to hear from our loyal readers! Share your tricks or techniques for keeping these wild things out of your garden spaces.
And for those of you who feel you are losing the battle, just remember, gardening is a journey. Do a little bit everyday as you can and find joy digging in the dirt!
Which are the worst weeds you deal with in your garden? What methods have you found useful?
Until next time, Happy Gardening!
Mary