{"id":3341,"date":"2018-04-06T08:30:47","date_gmt":"2018-04-06T15:30:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/gregalder.com\/yardposts\/?p=3341"},"modified":"2019-11-29T18:11:13","modified_gmt":"2019-11-30T02:11:13","slug":"how-to-outsmart-garden-weeds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gregalder.com\/yardposts\/how-to-outsmart-garden-weeds\/","title":{"rendered":"How to outsmart garden weeds"},"content":{"rendered":"

Weeding the garden is not mindless work. This struck me the other day when my wife was helping in the garden and I saw her do what we all instinctively do to a weed: rip it out of the ground. That’s generally a fine thing to do with a small weed, but this was a big weed like in the photo above.<\/p>\n

What then? The upturning of the soil just brought dormant weed seeds near the surface and gave them a chance at life, and so the effectiveness of the mulch in that spot has been negated. In essence, future weeds have been created.<\/p>\n

Beyond that, the big roots could’ve been left in the soil to decompose, which benefits the soil by feeding the tiny organisms that live there (those organisms will make nutrients available to future plants), and by improving the soil\u2019s texture and water-holding capacity through the additional organic matter.<\/span><\/p>\n

(See my post \u201cDon\u2019t dig in your garden\u201d<\/a> for more on why it’s good to leave your garden dirt undug.)<\/span><\/p>\n

How to leave the roots be while still eliminating the weed? Chop it off below the waist, so to speak.\u00a0Cut the plant just below the stem or leaf parts and just into the top of the roots, like this: <\/span><\/p>\n

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Gather up the leaves and cut with a tool like a hori-hori knife.<\/p><\/div>\n

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Weed killed; roots left in ground.<\/p><\/div>\n

You can use many tools to do the cutting (pruners, pocket knife, etc.), and this technique works especially well on thistle<\/a> and cheeseweed<\/a>\u00a0too. However, be aware\u00a0that it doesn\u2019t work on every weed. A few weeds will regrow from underground parts. Bermuda grass is an example. It has parts underground (rhizomes) that are attached to even deeper roots which all must be entirely dug up. This is best done by moistening the soil and then using a garden fork.<\/span><\/p>\n