Organic gardening: Weed control
“If it aint what I’m eating it’s a weed” is a popular gardening myth and it is just that, a myth. Personally I think it is another convenient broad generalisation that encompasses any plant that is not fully understood or highly cultivated. Yes, there certainly are particular plants to watch out for, which given the slightest chance will envelope your garden. But there are also plenty of other useful plants to have in your garden that are not such bullies. What I want to concentrate on is some of the more general, helpful and unhelpful wild plants and how to deal with them organically.
Anyone who has ever planted Mint (Mentha sp.) in an open garden as I have will know what a silly idea it is. Mint is an underground creeper; you may only see a few sprigs above ground, but underground it sends out hundreds of shoots in all directions. Like the ancient Hydra beast when you cut off one of the heads, two can grow back in its place, once mint establishes itself in an open garden it is very hard to completely remove. So it is with most underground creepers, they can escape an inattentive eye and quickly grow to dominate a garden. It pays to be a mite merciless when dealing with these hidden Ninja of the garden; here is a list of some of the more common underground creepers:
Couch grass (Agropyron repens)
Ground Elder (Aegopodium podagraria)
Canada thistle (Cirsium arvense)
Bindweed (Convolvulus arvensis)
The visible or above ground creepers are easier to deal with; at least you can see their progress and take appropriate measures, but don’t be fooled and remain meticulous in their management. In the right season, give them two days of rain and one week unobserved, and they will have a ribald house party all over your newly spouted Zucchinis. Though at least with visible creepers generally what is gone is gone for good, with little or no re-growth. Some of the more widespread visible creepers are:
Cinquefoil (Potentilla sp.)
Creeping Buttercup (Ranunculus repens)
Ground Ivy (Glechoma hederacea)
Morning Glory (Ipomoea tricolor)
The bountiful seed givers can wreak unexpected havoc long after they have died, with thousands of seedlings launching forth in the right conditions. I have also had this happen from badly made compost into which mother plants have been thrown full of hardy seed. It’s a bit of a shock to see your beds in bloom with bright green waves which quickly turns to horror, as you realise what that actually means and entails. With these prodigious rabbits of the plant world there is a simple solution, do not let them go to seed, adhere to that straightforward deadline and get to them before the seeds begin to develop. Here are a few of the most frequently fertile:
Japanese knotweed (Polygonum cuspidatum) (also a Ninja)
Broad-leaved willow-herb (Epilobium montanum)
Bull thistle (Cirsium vulgare)
Rosebay willow-herb (Epilobium angustifolium) (another Ninja)
Now there are Tap roots and tap roots, of the former you must be careful to either get them while they are young, or dig deep enough to remove the whole main root. These are classic mining dwarfs; they rely on digging as deep and as quickly as possible. Some are so vivacious that by the time you see their seedling leaves they are already an arm lengths deep. It pays to be thorough in the beginning with these thick tuber types don’t let them break off, if they do snap, go get the rest, as this can be a catalyst for multi-node propagation. Go the extra mile if you find a previously unnoticed developed clump, unless you want to be wrestling with them for perhaps years onwards. Some of the more nefarious gold diggers are:
Wood Sorrell Oxalis (Oxalis acetosella)
Cow parsley (Anthriscus sylvestris)
Broad-leafed Dock (Rumex obtusifolius)
Sheeps Sorrell (Rumex acetosella)
When I walk in a natural environment, I always notice the incredible diversity per square meter, how each plant passively aids or aggressively subdues at least three other plants, shrubs, trees etc. Nature is by its nature bountiful given the slightest opportunity, observe the relationships between your indigenous wild plants, and you can apply them to your own garden. Humans are only just beginning to swim in the deep seas of nature’s knowledge; in fact we still have inflatable armbands on. Think of select wild plants growing in amongst your edible crops as natures little helpers; they can do any number of things for you, the only limit is your plant knowledge, imagination and where you let them grow or plant them.
My favourite wild helpers have to be all those in the Leguminosae, or Fabaceae Family. Legumes are natural state, nitrogen fixing plants, shrubs and trees. That’s right, good use of the legumes and you can have a naturally occurring state of nitrogen rich soil. No need for mountains of expensive manure or compost, or do I even have to say, inorganic fertilisers. The family is a large one and includes the Acacia species, which together with the humble termite, roll around fertilising the red soils of Africa at a sub-geological time speed.
I try to always have at least one fallow bed (five active) and this is sown thick with clover, and a couple of other select pants. Just as the clover begins to form seed, I immediately turn the whole bed over burying the clover. There are two important things happening here, the first is when clover begins to seed, like a lot of legumes it actually begins to retract the nitrogen from the soil. The second, turning them over into the soil greatly adds to a healthy biomass in the form of onsite composting. Note the bed stays fallow for at least four months after turning before going active to enable a full decomposition. I also sow other legumes amongst the beds, and have planted Leucaena’s, a small nitro tree, at the ends and middle of the beds. Leucaena should be cropped or coppiced, like clover, when its seed begins to develop. Some of the useful dynamite wild plant legumes are:
Clover (Trifolium -repens (white) or -pratense (red))
Alfalfa (Medicago sativa)
Leucaena (Leucaena leucocephala)
Vetch (Vicia sativa)
There are multitudes of other wild plant helpers, so let me, list a few with purposes to get you going, out into the countryside, library, and talking to your local organic green thumb to find out more.
Poppy (Papaver rhoeas)
This is an attractor plant and will bring butterflies, bees and birds into your garden, remember it’s all about achieving a natural balance.
Nettle (Urtica dioica)
Also an attractor, but nettle also can act as an activator in compost and when decomposing it releases a host of gathered minerals and trace elements.
Chickweed (Stellaria media)
Grows very rapidly so you have to keep and eye on it, but also means it’s a ready source of green manure or mulch.
Lamb’s Quarters (Chenopodium album)
This nifty little wild plant is a predator attractor of hover-flies which eat aphids. It is also very high in trace elements and minerals.
Right here’s the bottom line about organic wild plant control, there is no such thing as a magic organic weed killer liquid, spray, etc. There is no poison organic or otherwise that can discriminate amongst beneficial or malignant plants, insects, or the billions of important microbes found in a healthy soil. What it comes down to is mostly weeding, weeding, and more weeding, there is no better substitute, though there are several strategies on can employ to reduce this load.
A good organic gardener should aim for 80% observation, 10% work, and 10% remembering and learning from your mistakes.
Plan your planting in accordance with your food plants eventual size, above and below ground, and when it will grow. Use this knowledge to over-crowd your garden with useful plants that will over grow and prevent other non-useful plants from getting in and out of hand.
Suffocate new wild growth by extensively mulching or green composting directly on top of young new growth; you can never have too much biomass in your soil. Some people use black plastic for the same purpose but I’m not a fan.
Never let wild plants go to seed, unless they’re useful and that’s what you want. Be vigilant and ever ready to dig, pull or mulch down when those first flowers appear. If you miss the bloom, pull them anyway but carefully, and do not add them to your compost.
With deep rooted wild plants, when you go for them go all the way, leave no root behind. Even the smallest piece of main root can survive some hellish conditions for years, and will sprout when the conditions become right again, remove them out right from your garden and burn them, returning the resultant ash to the soil or compost heap.
If you have to plant an underground ninja like Mint in your garden then create an impermeable barrier around them to prevent them running amok.
These are just a few ideas of the many ways one can turn wild plants from foes into friends of your garden. I find a good general overlook is to be able to assign at least three solid purposes for a plant to be in your garden. Organic gardening is a dynamic undertaking and you must be on your toes ready to change plans and strategies according to what is happening in your garden. Nature is a powerful force and works best in a garden when lightly led by the humble gardener.
Good organic gardening!
Anyone who has ever planted Mint (Mentha sp.) in an open garden as I have will know what a silly idea it is. Mint is an underground creeper; you may only see a few sprigs above ground, but underground it sends out hundreds of shoots in all directions. Like the ancient Hydra beast when you cut off one of the heads, two can grow back in its place, once mint establishes itself in an open garden it is very hard to completely remove. So it is with most underground creepers, they can escape an inattentive eye and quickly grow to dominate a garden. It pays to be a mite merciless when dealing with these hidden Ninja of the garden; here is a list of some of the more common underground creepers:
Couch grass (Agropyron repens)
Ground Elder (Aegopodium podagraria)
Canada thistle (Cirsium arvense)
Bindweed (Convolvulus arvensis)
The visible or above ground creepers are easier to deal with; at least you can see their progress and take appropriate measures, but don’t be fooled and remain meticulous in their management. In the right season, give them two days of rain and one week unobserved, and they will have a ribald house party all over your newly spouted Zucchinis. Though at least with visible creepers generally what is gone is gone for good, with little or no re-growth. Some of the more widespread visible creepers are:
Cinquefoil (Potentilla sp.)
Creeping Buttercup (Ranunculus repens)
Ground Ivy (Glechoma hederacea)
Morning Glory (Ipomoea tricolor)
The bountiful seed givers can wreak unexpected havoc long after they have died, with thousands of seedlings launching forth in the right conditions. I have also had this happen from badly made compost into which mother plants have been thrown full of hardy seed. It’s a bit of a shock to see your beds in bloom with bright green waves which quickly turns to horror, as you realise what that actually means and entails. With these prodigious rabbits of the plant world there is a simple solution, do not let them go to seed, adhere to that straightforward deadline and get to them before the seeds begin to develop. Here are a few of the most frequently fertile:
Japanese knotweed (Polygonum cuspidatum) (also a Ninja)
Broad-leaved willow-herb (Epilobium montanum)
Bull thistle (Cirsium vulgare)
Rosebay willow-herb (Epilobium angustifolium) (another Ninja)
Now there are Tap roots and tap roots, of the former you must be careful to either get them while they are young, or dig deep enough to remove the whole main root. These are classic mining dwarfs; they rely on digging as deep and as quickly as possible. Some are so vivacious that by the time you see their seedling leaves they are already an arm lengths deep. It pays to be thorough in the beginning with these thick tuber types don’t let them break off, if they do snap, go get the rest, as this can be a catalyst for multi-node propagation. Go the extra mile if you find a previously unnoticed developed clump, unless you want to be wrestling with them for perhaps years onwards. Some of the more nefarious gold diggers are:
Wood Sorrell Oxalis (Oxalis acetosella)
Cow parsley (Anthriscus sylvestris)
Broad-leafed Dock (Rumex obtusifolius)
Sheeps Sorrell (Rumex acetosella)
When I walk in a natural environment, I always notice the incredible diversity per square meter, how each plant passively aids or aggressively subdues at least three other plants, shrubs, trees etc. Nature is by its nature bountiful given the slightest opportunity, observe the relationships between your indigenous wild plants, and you can apply them to your own garden. Humans are only just beginning to swim in the deep seas of nature’s knowledge; in fact we still have inflatable armbands on. Think of select wild plants growing in amongst your edible crops as natures little helpers; they can do any number of things for you, the only limit is your plant knowledge, imagination and where you let them grow or plant them.
My favourite wild helpers have to be all those in the Leguminosae, or Fabaceae Family. Legumes are natural state, nitrogen fixing plants, shrubs and trees. That’s right, good use of the legumes and you can have a naturally occurring state of nitrogen rich soil. No need for mountains of expensive manure or compost, or do I even have to say, inorganic fertilisers. The family is a large one and includes the Acacia species, which together with the humble termite, roll around fertilising the red soils of Africa at a sub-geological time speed.
I try to always have at least one fallow bed (five active) and this is sown thick with clover, and a couple of other select pants. Just as the clover begins to form seed, I immediately turn the whole bed over burying the clover. There are two important things happening here, the first is when clover begins to seed, like a lot of legumes it actually begins to retract the nitrogen from the soil. The second, turning them over into the soil greatly adds to a healthy biomass in the form of onsite composting. Note the bed stays fallow for at least four months after turning before going active to enable a full decomposition. I also sow other legumes amongst the beds, and have planted Leucaena’s, a small nitro tree, at the ends and middle of the beds. Leucaena should be cropped or coppiced, like clover, when its seed begins to develop. Some of the useful dynamite wild plant legumes are:
Clover (Trifolium -repens (white) or -pratense (red))
Alfalfa (Medicago sativa)
Leucaena (Leucaena leucocephala)
Vetch (Vicia sativa)
There are multitudes of other wild plant helpers, so let me, list a few with purposes to get you going, out into the countryside, library, and talking to your local organic green thumb to find out more.
Poppy (Papaver rhoeas)
This is an attractor plant and will bring butterflies, bees and birds into your garden, remember it’s all about achieving a natural balance.
Nettle (Urtica dioica)
Also an attractor, but nettle also can act as an activator in compost and when decomposing it releases a host of gathered minerals and trace elements.
Chickweed (Stellaria media)
Grows very rapidly so you have to keep and eye on it, but also means it’s a ready source of green manure or mulch.
Lamb’s Quarters (Chenopodium album)
This nifty little wild plant is a predator attractor of hover-flies which eat aphids. It is also very high in trace elements and minerals.
Right here’s the bottom line about organic wild plant control, there is no such thing as a magic organic weed killer liquid, spray, etc. There is no poison organic or otherwise that can discriminate amongst beneficial or malignant plants, insects, or the billions of important microbes found in a healthy soil. What it comes down to is mostly weeding, weeding, and more weeding, there is no better substitute, though there are several strategies on can employ to reduce this load.
A good organic gardener should aim for 80% observation, 10% work, and 10% remembering and learning from your mistakes.
Plan your planting in accordance with your food plants eventual size, above and below ground, and when it will grow. Use this knowledge to over-crowd your garden with useful plants that will over grow and prevent other non-useful plants from getting in and out of hand.
Suffocate new wild growth by extensively mulching or green composting directly on top of young new growth; you can never have too much biomass in your soil. Some people use black plastic for the same purpose but I’m not a fan.
Never let wild plants go to seed, unless they’re useful and that’s what you want. Be vigilant and ever ready to dig, pull or mulch down when those first flowers appear. If you miss the bloom, pull them anyway but carefully, and do not add them to your compost.
With deep rooted wild plants, when you go for them go all the way, leave no root behind. Even the smallest piece of main root can survive some hellish conditions for years, and will sprout when the conditions become right again, remove them out right from your garden and burn them, returning the resultant ash to the soil or compost heap.
If you have to plant an underground ninja like Mint in your garden then create an impermeable barrier around them to prevent them running amok.
These are just a few ideas of the many ways one can turn wild plants from foes into friends of your garden. I find a good general overlook is to be able to assign at least three solid purposes for a plant to be in your garden. Organic gardening is a dynamic undertaking and you must be on your toes ready to change plans and strategies according to what is happening in your garden. Nature is a powerful force and works best in a garden when lightly led by the humble gardener.
Good organic gardening!
In this series: ∙ Weed Control ∙ Compost ∙ Pest Control ∙ Companion Planting ∙ System Design ∙ Crop Rotation ∙
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