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Weeds Are History

Weeds are the number-one complaint of gardeners, which is no surprise, for the pesky buggers impact both the looks and health of our gardens. Weeds are a formidable foe, for they seem to possess the pent-up life force of the universe in their vigorous stems and seeds. Theyll outlive us all with their daunting vigor. Some, like horsetails, have been around since the days of the dinosaurs. But wouldnt it be nice if we could just subdue them enough so we could enjoy our gardens in the meantime? Who wants to spend time weeding when you could be planting, harvesting, or relaxing in the garden? Its possible, with know-how and persistence (and without using toxic chemicals), to tame weeds to the point where its a satisfying pleasure to go out and pull a few because its such a rare task. Honest. You wont find any information on chemicals in this book, as they are unquestionably bad for the soil, water, creatures, and our own health (see Keep It Green in the next chapter). Here are some strategies to fight the good fight and win the war against weeds:
OPPOSITE: Pachysandra and hostas are repeated throughout the garden for their ease of maintenance and shade-loving ways.

Start right. The number-one tip from the gardeners I spoke with is to buy a

weed-free property to begin with. When youre house shopping, check out the garden carefully for any sign of horsetails, bindweed, or other pesky perennial weeds. Then keep these plagues at bay by thoroughly vetting any soil, compost, or mulch you import, as well as the soil around the roots of plants you acquire, particularly ones given to you from other peoples gardens. These are the usual ways weeds infiltrate gardens, and its much easier to keep them out in the first place.

Enrich the soil. Improving your soil boosts the health of the plants youre
cultivating while eliminating conditions encouraging to weeds. Solve drainage problems with French drains, ditches, or drainpipe to eliminate the many weeds, like horsetail, that do best in damp conditions. Adding organic matter, compost, and aged manure improves soil tilth and boosts its fertility, which is good for the plants you want and discourages the ones you dont want.

Apply mulch. A three-to-four-inch-thick layer of mulch, applied between

and around plants spring and fall, breaks down to improve the soil, smothering weeds in the meantime. Dont heap mulch over the crowns of perennials, and

I love a garden that is impossibly lush, that requires editing but not refereeing. The gardener is there to witness and edit the ebb and flow but not to referee. Thats too much work.
Tom Mannion, garden desiger

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Cover the ground. Leave no bit of soil bare, for weeds are opportunists just
stones, pavers, or black Japanese stone to cover the ground.

keep it a couple of inches away from the trunks and stems of trees and shrubs.

waiting to move right in. Plant carpeting ground covers or lay down gravel,

Pull weeds early. Weed easy, weed early (like shifting a bike before going up a Persist in pulling the suckers. Like any other plant, weeds need light and air
alone to bloom and reproduce. Dont let it happen.

hill). Pull weeds before they mature and disperse their seeds, because we dont even like to think about the gazillions of babies each weed can produce if left

to thrive. If you pull them and pull them again, theyll decline in vigor. Persist and dont be discouraged. Weeding has its benefits, for it gets you down there at eye level to keep track of whats going on with your plantsand its enormously satisfying to clean out a planting bed in springtime or rid a gravel drive or terrace of weeds.

Fry them. Earth-friendly, nonchemical aids to weed control include spraying Dispose of weeds in the garbage. Dont count on your home compost to heat
up enough to destroy weed seeds and roots. In fact, spreading composted weeds about the garden is a sure way to cause even more of a problem. Keep weeds out of the compost. Its best to bag them, tie the bag securely, and put it in the garbage. erating the interlopers with a blast from a flame torch.

with vinegar, pouring boiling water on weeds, or, my personal favorite, incin-

Smother the whole lot. Sometimes its easier to smother the whole lot of
thick black landscape cloth, generously overlapped at the seams and held

them than pull weeds out one by one. In my current garden, the drainage is so bad and the horsetails so pervasive that we covered most of the ground with down with a thick gravel mulch. I garden in lovely weed-free soil in pots and raised beds on top of the gravel. Weed seeds blow in and some of my plants seed about, but the perennial weed scourge has been defeated.