What Is the Purpose of Weeds And Why

Are They Important?

FARMER JAY | APRIL 15, 2013 | 9:00AM
I was taught that, for a farmer, weeds are Nature's support crops and are vital to a
healthy system. Now, there is a point in the beginning of our cash crop's life where we
have to fight for its little life and take down the weeds, but once the cash crop is big
enough to not be overpowered by the weeds, let them grow.

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Understanding Weeds
Weeds come in all shapes and sizes, both on top and root structure. Some weeds are
vines to cover and protect the soil, some are tall and woody, some have thin and
abundant roots, like grasses, and some have a single tap root, like a turnip. Each weed
has its sole purpose, which is to grow, flower, and produce babies. The structural
makeup of the plant will tell you the purpose. Like grasses are designed to hold soil in
place with their many fine root hairs, and a tap rooted plant is designed to break up
compacted soil. The thing that separates weeds from our garden plants is they grow
much faster. They grow faster by design; their main purpose is to build soil. Some
species of weeds, called pioneer species, not only grow fast, but they produce carbon
quickly as well. This carbon, when they die, lasts a long time in the soil, helps build
structure, and helps retain water. Weeds have certain nutrients that they absorb from
the soil, bring to the top, and release when they die or compost.

So looking across an abandoned field you will see a variety of weeds growing, each of
them is a reaction of whatever deficiency the soil has. Over time the field will
eventually become a jungle, or whatever the geographic location dictates. For
example, the taller weed that has a small daisy type flower growing in our area is
known for drawing calcium out of the soil. So an abundance of this plant is an
indicator that your soil is lacking calcium. I have encountered farmers that can look
at a field and tell you what your soil needs just by looking at the weeds.

Other big reasons for weeds in the garden

Where in nature do you see bare soil, besides the desert? Weeds protect the soil and
help build it, but there is another main reason to keep them around. A plant's main
purpose in life is to produce sugars; they do this through the process photosynthesis.
Remember that word from grade school? Well the sugars they produce go to making
leaves, flowers, and eventually fruit and seeds, but as much as 50% of the sugars they
produce gets exuded though the roots to attract the microscopic organisms of the
soil food web. Plants do not have a stomach, so they rely on the soil to digest and
transfer nutrients. Plants also, do not have a stomach liner to keep the digestive
process in the root zone, so they exude these sugars to attract the biology in and keep
them there to feed the plant.
Weeds also help protect surrounding plants. Sometimes weeds will help hold up our
plants, or maybe they will shade them from sun, or maybe they will take the insect
attack for us. In a lettuce field weeds are super important for another reason. They
keep the soil out of the leaves. If the weeds were not present, when we irrigate or a
rain comes the water droplets splash the soil in the leaves. When we have weeds
surrounding the lettuce, the soil is not bare and therefore the weeds help keep the dirt
from splashing into the leaves. Believe me, growing lettuce without weeds is a big
problem. Delicate leaves are hard to rinse thoroughly and no matter what your
lettuce will be crunchy from the sand and dirt.

Plants work together in their little community and biodiversity is the key. Bare soil is
rare in nature and so is a monoculture, diversity is key. Plants work together and help
feed each other, if you learn how they grow and how to cultivate them you can benefit
from Nature's support crops in your garden.

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