8 minute read
A Better Way to Weed
You would think that pulling weeds is simple enough that anybody can figure it out. Surely it does not require a degree to master—just grab the weed and yank it out of the ground. Many people think that it is as easy as that. Though time after time, I see new volunteers, homeowners, and interns who struggle to stay on top of reoccurring weed problems.
One thing I’ve noticed is that people obsess over getting every weed out, all at once. They start hand pulling at one end of the garden, and meticulously work through to the other side, until every weed, large, medium, or small, is gone. That’s fine if you can get it all done in one session, but that’s not how weeding always happens, especially in larger gardens.
In most cases, noticeable weeds are the biggest ones that stand out like a sore thumb. It only takes a quick pass through the garden to pull those big, obvious weeds—the ones that are a foot tall or more. The ones that your neighbor can see. The ones that are getting ready to flower, or already are. These are the low-hanging fruit. These are the weeds that you can pull while fetching the paper, or taking the recycling to the curb. And what to do with those weeds after you knock off the dirt and have them in hand? Direct compost them, of course. No need to gather them in a pile or in a bucket and haul them away. Hide them under or behind another plant and let them rot out of sight, directly in the garden. Or wad them into a ball and heave them to the back of the garden where they disappear. Remember, you are only grabbing the biggest, most obvious weeds in sight, and be sure that they are not covered with ripe seeds! Weeds with seeds need to go to the compost pile or trash. The rest of the small to medium weeds can wait until the weekend.
For the myriad tiny weeds that you encounter, you may not need to pull them by hand. Try a scuffle hoe or a Dutch hoe when soil is dry, to scrape and sever the tops from their roots. Those tiny weeds will shrivel up in 24 hours and virtually disappear so there may not be a need to remove them from the garden. Keep in mind that the reason there are so many tiny weeds is that the mulch was too thin or gone altogether. If you are using brown mulch, top dress these thin areas, making sure that mulch is 2 inches deep to prevent future weeds.
When hand pulling larger weeds in conventionally mulched garden beds (leaf or hardwood mulch), it is easiest to yank most weeds when the soil is moist. Don’t forget to knock off the dirt, but be careful to return the clods of dirt back into the hole you just made and cover with mulch. Dirt clods sitting on top of mulch will sprout new weeds quickly. A rookie mistake.
Take advantage of leaves that naturally fall from the trees. In fall, rake them off the lawn and evenly (and thinly) spread them on bare ground, between plants in flowerbeds. I love using the leaves of bald cypress and pine. Their color and texture are unbeaten.
Pesky weeds like tall goldenrod, wild germander, and horse nettle are frustrating because they have suckering roots that spread far and wide. Pull them when the soil is moist, to remove as many roots as possible. You will likely miss some roots and need to pull repeatedly through the spring and summer months to get them under control. Be sure to prevent them from going to seed, or they will spread out of control.
Lastly, we have been tinkering with groundcovers—sometimes referred to as “living, green mulch”—that meander through flowerbeds, covering bare ground and supressingsuppressing weeds. In full sun to part shade, we use wild strawberry (Fragaria virginiana) between wild indigo (Baptisia spp.), rose mallow (Hibiscus lasiocarpus), and turtlehead (Chelone obliqua). When the strawberry fills in (it only takes one growing season), weeds have a hard time moving back in, and there is no need for brown mulch. In shady areas, we are doing the same with round-leaved groundsel (Packera obovata). Eventually, the taller natives will shade out the wild strawberry and fill in, shading out weeds as well.
Reoccurring weeds can be the bane of a gardener’s existence. But they don’t have to be. Here are the words to a favorite song of mine, Walking the Beans, by Greg Brown: “Bandana on my head, I got a long-handled hoe in my hand. You know people are afraid of hell and now I understand, ’cause I can picture some devil from that land below, and he’s a-pushin’ pigweed up from under every row I just hoed.”
Happy gardening y’all.
Photo by Jen Sieradzki.
Scuffle hoe (l) and Dutch hoe (r) Turtlehead Longleaf pine straw
Wild strawberry
SCOTT WOODBURY Horticulturist
Horticulturist Scott Woodbury is the Curator of the Whitmore Wildflower Garden at Shaw Nature Reserve in Gray Summit, Missouri, where he has worked with native plant propagation, design, and education for 30 years. He also is an advisor to the Missouri Prairie Foundation’s Grow Native! program. Find suppliers of native plants and seeds at www.grownative.org, Resource Guide.
Apply now for Johnson County K-State Extension Master Gardener program
If you enjoy gardening, working with others and having fun while sharing your passion, then the Extension Master Gardener (EMG) program may be the opportunity for you. Applications are now being accepted for the Johnson County K-State Research and Extension Master Gardener Class of 2023 training program. The application deadline is July 15, 2022.
Training sessions are held every Thursday from September 1 to December 15, 2022. All classes will be conducted utilizing a combination of in-person or online using Zoom. In-person classes will be conducted at the Johnson County Extension office, 11811 S. Sunset Drive, Suite 1500 in Olathe. There is a $125 administration fee for those accepted into the class. Class members must be Johnson County residents.
Applicants are selected based on gardening and volunteering experience, ability to attend training sessions and volunteer activities, and, most importantly, willingness to commit long term to the annual requirement of volunteer service. Gardeners who join the program bring many different experience levels and interests to the program. If you are a novice gardener, do not let the title of Extension Master Gardener intimidate you. Your love of gardening and passion for sharing your garden experience is the foundation for success.
An orientation session to learn more about the program will be held on Monday, June 6th at 1:00 over Zoom. Preregistration is required for the orientation. Please contact Mary Matthew, EMG Volunteer Coordinator, at Mary.Matthew@jocogov. org to receive the invitation.
The EMG program, sponsored by K-State Research and Extension, is designed to teach area gardeners about horticulture and give them the opportunity to share their knowledge through various gardening-related volunteer projects. Applicants who are selected will receive intensive horticulturerelated training from university and industry experts. In return, newly trained recruits will be required to volunteer a minimum number of hours each year.
EMG volunteers get involved in a variety of projects, including maintaining demonstration gardens, staffing a gardening hotline, and giving presentations through the speakers’ bureau. Youth programs are also another avenue for volunteer participation.
If you are interested in applying for the program or would like more information, please contact Johnson County Extension at (913) 715-7000 or visit www.johnson.kstate.edu and click on the Extension Master Gardener link for details.
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