Let’s Talk Weeds: Friend, Foe, or Free Fertilizer? 🌿

[TEG Project Manager]

Ah, weeds… the uninvited guests of every garden. They pop up overnight, crash the party, and somehow thrive better than the plants we actually want to grow.

But here’s the thing—are they really all that bad? Some gardeners say weeds are a nightmare that steal nutrients and take over beds. Others find a silver lining, using weeds for compost, natural medicine, or even as free mulch.

So let’s hear from you:

• Do you battle weeds with gloves on and muttered grumbles?
• Do you let a few grow and call it “wild charm”?
• Or have you found clever ways to turn those pesky intruders into something useful?

Share your best (or funniest) weed-fighting hacks, your “can’t-believe-this-weed” stories, or maybe even your secret admiration for a weed or two. After all, one gardener’s pest is another gardener’s pet plant!

 

[ducks4you]

As I understand it weeds can be very helpful AS LONG AS you don't let them go to seed and spread uncontrolled.
Their deep roots bring up nutrients in the soil, you can make compost tea (sans weed seeds) to fertilize your crops and flowers, some weeds are those you make peace with simply bc they are less noxious than others, such as letting dandelions grow instead of thistles.
I let dandelions, clover, purslane and sometimes plantain alone as unplanned cover crops.
The battle for ME at my place is with burdock and bindweed.
Many other weeds right now have gotten tall, but a few hours with a reciprocating saw and some paper to start a nice fire and They will be history.
Weeds make nice ash, too.

 

[digitS']

Some Of Them Have Their Place In A Garden.

The above is a redroot pigweed, right? Not quite. The seed was sold as Green Amaranth and I will believe them. I have eaten pigweed a number of times and don't dislike it. This near cousin is milder and more tender. We will save some seed altho a few plants are growing from roots left as cut-&-come-again.

Your picture of a dandelion reminds me that I have a purchased tea made in part with dandelion roots. I have roasted and successfully used dandelion roots for a coffee addition or supplement. When I was successful, the plants were growing big and healthy, not like those that squeeze out an existence in my lawn!

Some people like the flavor of purslane. I don't. Useful garden plants that volunteer for another season are great, however, even with those, caution is needed. How many can be made use of and how much competition are they to other plants?

Mostly, weeds are a nuisance to me. My compost is regularly contaminated with weed seed and the way that I make compost will not kill that seed with the heat of decomposition. So, I am reluctant to use invasive plants for compost. Spent vegetables and kitchen scraps provide a good supply of green material for compost.

Steve

 

[Alasgun]

As a Rabbitier i prefer to call them Forage!

 

[SPedigrees]

This subject is near and dear to me. I resent the fact that in my lifetime what were once known as wildflowers became reclassified as "weeds." I blame it on the pesticide manufacturers who have eradicated the pollinator attracting "weeds" that once grew abundantly on the outskirts of farmers' rows, lawns, public spaces, and vacant lots, to the detriment of many species who depend on these plants.

That said, wild morning glory, aka bindweed, is the devil's spawn, and anyone who has spent decades removing burrs from horse and dog hair has a similar opinion of burdocks and thistles. Then there is wild parsnip, aka poison parsnip. I have my own gripe against poison parsnip since falling victim decades ago while clearing parsnip from our pasture. This miserable weed causes photosensitivity blistering which happens when the sap from this plant gets on your skin and that skin is exposed to sunlight. Like poison ivy, except instead of itching, these blisters hurt, and it requires sunlight to bring up a rash.

Another plant that sort of deserves the designation of "weed" would be stinging nettle, which stings like a bee. I've tempered my opinion of this plant somewhat, and allow some to survive, upon learning that it is caterpillar food for the black swallowtail (one of my favorite butterflies). Also I know that stinging nettle is used as tea, but given my experiences with it, I've never been brave enough to try.

I selectively go after what I call weeds with a string trimmer.

Now for those flowers that I defend and refuse to call weeds:

No flowering plants I could buy would be more lovely than this goldenrod and aster combination which sprang up next to my gate. These flowers did not have to be bought or planted, and need no care or cultivation.

I feel the same way about this volunteer chickory with its sky-blue blossoms and its companion Queen Anne's lace. These line my driveway every summer.

Or this wild milkweed whose flowers echoed the color and pattern of this solar lantern.

Other wildflowers I welcome are daisies and black-eyed Susans. (no pictures)

The usefulness of these non-weeds are many.

Chickory root is a coffee substitute, found in a tea that I, like Steve, buy. It also contains dandelion root, and speaking of dandelions, they're great in salads and stir fries. Our horses ate them for years.

Wild milkweed is essential to the survival of monarch butterflies. They will feed on other flowers, and other types of milkweed, but I think wild milkweed is the only plant that monarch butterflies will lay their eggs on.

Goldenrod forms as effective a privacy barrier on the edge of my property as any hedge could do. It's seasonal, but requires no care whatsoever.

So that's my take on weeds. Sorry this is so picture heavy.

 

[Shades-of-Oregon]

@SPedigrees Luv the pictures. Beautiful area you live in.

Wow is that pic of your arms from stinging nettle? That looks painful. What do you use to treat it. Antihistimes help? I had a similar run in with the juniper hedges after clipping them back I developed a rash on my arms that simply wouldn’t go away. Finally got a prescription for a topical steroid that seems to be helping. I tried everything but the kitchen sink till I finally went to the clinic. Wild horses had to drag me there…

I’ve never seen goldenrod that tall such a beautiful display. Unfortunately they have been eliminated here considered noxious weeds by the county wide yearly spray routine . Also a real pretty bush is the scotch broom a vigorous weed and spreader. It’s huge seed pods burst open like pop corn and hundreds , thousands of seeds covers miles . The county has eliminated a lot of road side wild flowers /weeds. Like you mentioned our chickory are gone too. Luv the wild daisies . I let them grow anywhere . They are an easy care plant and not an issue with livestock.
Your pony is so handsome / beautiful depending on mare or gelding. My horses love dandelions too, they are rich in minerals and their long tap root helps to break up hard pack soils. Also wine can be made from dandelions and as you also noted are safe for humans to eat too. I have a list of wild plants that are safe to eat , it’s a survivor list.

However there are a few exceptions that I passionately work on to dig out root and all from the pastures when ever I see tansy ragwort, wild milkweed, hemlock, nightshade, wild pigweed, bracken fern, yew and a few other plants that are all poisonous to live stalk. Even queen ann’s lace is a pain once it gets started and hay pastures is the major concern with as little weeds as possible and safe for livestock. A lot of the weed seeds come thru on winter wind currents, sneaky lil seeds.

Another plant that requires no care are the hypericums. Considered a weed and I luv them in my garden. Lovely lil shrub with yellow flowers in spring and colorful berries in fall . Used in the floral industry in floral arrangements as are goldenrod.

I do want to mention the wild holly and wild cherry trees that grow here. They are a pain popping up between the plants in my flowerbeds as well as those pesky Himalayan wild blackberry’s. Even the clematis vines have reached thru to the wild forests of Oregon and killed trees running out natural habitat much like English ivy or Virginia creeper. I have them all in my garden and never have a problem with any of them. I keep them all contained and clipped, running up arbors . A purple clematis weaving thru evergreen variegated holly trees , Virginia creeper along the lattace by the patio now glowing with beautiful fall color, and variegated ivy kept in planters a plant deer never bother.

So what is a weed and what is not a weed. Looked up the definition and found … “A weed is simply any plant where it is not wanted , a subjective term based on human perception, or agricultural goals , rather than scientific classification”.