Weeding Techniques

Shades-of-Oregon

Deeply Rooted
Joined
Jul 22, 2024
Messages
1,016
Reaction score
3,086
Points
165
@flowerbug thanks for the suggestion.

How about those wild blackberry canes that grow from birds droppings and pop up in the crowns of plants. So far I just clip them down a far as possible. I swear they grow a foot a day. In winters I try to dig the blackberry tap roots up hoping not to damage the surrounding garden plants . It seems like one of those necessary jobs that grows larger every year.
 

ducks4you

Garden Master
Joined
Sep 4, 2009
Messages
12,008
Reaction score
16,231
Points
417
Location
East Central IL, Was Zone 6, Now...maybe Zone 5
I didn't know Where to post this article about 5 common weeds "you Should grow in your garden."
Before reading it I thought maybe purslane, perHaps dandelions, but chickweed?1?!?
There is a link to a book recommending cultivating weeds.
This is purely food for thought and discussion:
 

flowerbug

Garden Master
Joined
Oct 15, 2017
Messages
17,115
Reaction score
27,062
Points
427
Location
mid-Michigan, USoA
I didn't know Where to post this article about 5 common weeds "you Should grow in your garden."
Before reading it I thought maybe purslane, perHaps dandelions, but chickweed?1?!?
There is a link to a book recommending cultivating weeds.
This is purely food for thought and discussion:

in a different world perhaps. :) none of those are acceptable to Mom so they must go... and i don't really like the looks of chickweeds in general, they are a pain in the butt if you are trying to keep some creeping thymes looking nice.
 

Shades-of-Oregon

Deeply Rooted
Joined
Jul 22, 2024
Messages
1,016
Reaction score
3,086
Points
165
Weed techniques in my garden I pull em, smother em, and use pre emergents, horticulture vinegar. If all else fails I use a pasture weed blend made and recommended by Oregon Ag university.
 

digitS'

Garden Master
Joined
Dec 13, 2007
Messages
26,896
Reaction score
33,157
Points
457
Location
border, ID/WA(!)
Hey. I have tried eating weeds and have enjoyed some of them. As with everything, a compromise is needed when 2 or more people live together or one may find his or herself off in a corner with a 🥣. Well, most plants were not worth the isolation ;).

DW tolerated dandelion greens well enough that she wanted to try the Italian chicory known as a "dandelion." Neither fit in the desirable column for my tastes. Yes, water was changed twice during cooking. And yes, 1 or 2 batches of the roasted roots made an acceptable addition to lower caffeine in coffee. So, DW could eat the greens and I could drink the root beverage?

:D Chickweed had a fairly good flavor but I wasn't willing to mess with the tiny plants to harvest a mess for the kitchen. Also, they can form a mess of  weeds blanketing garden soil. Maybe not as bad as purslane (another edible) and with a better flavor but, nah.

Did the author mention pigweed? I like it but it's too competitive. Lambs quarters give me few problems and I like it as a green. However, it requires attention to its short harvest period and DW doesn't care for it.

Similar, and related, are amaranth and orach. Okay, how broad do we want to define a weed? Both volunteer enthusiastically! One should be very selective about how many mother plants and where they remain for the following year's crop. We may "weed out" our current purple amaranth for a purchase of  green amaranth in 2025. We both like it! DW doesn't have much appreciation for the purple colored veggies ;). I like the flavor but also that the volunteers have some resistance to bolting when hot weather hits.

Orach used to be greatly appreciated by me, fairly much alone, and in the corner with my 🥣. Then, we left one garden with its volunteers (without saving the seed!). Purchased and gifted seed didn't produce the same vegetable I had come to like :(. I had forgotten the origin of the original seed after more than a dozen years of enjoying the volunteers. It wasn't all that special in appearance – just a little purplish.

I'm thinking of buying seed specifically for green amaranth and green orach this Winter :).

Steve
 

ducks4you

Garden Master
Joined
Sep 4, 2009
Messages
12,008
Reaction score
16,231
Points
417
Location
East Central IL, Was Zone 6, Now...maybe Zone 5
Wow, never thought of Amaranth as a weed, but I will take Your word for it.
Never heard of orach:
PLEASE be honest, SO MANY plants are supposed to taste like spinach, and they Don't, just like meats that as supposed to taste like chicken...and they don't.
 

digitS'

Garden Master
Joined
Dec 13, 2007
Messages
26,896
Reaction score
33,157
Points
457
Location
border, ID/WA(!)
My opinion?

Orach tastes better than spinach. I even prefer it raw to spinach.

Yes, I know what you mean. I've even seen some of those brassicas compared to spinach ...?! Spinach bolts quickly here. Orach does a little better but moving some volunteers slows them down more and that's what I did with my preferred variety.

They are related: spinach/orach, amaranth/orach, orach/lambs quarters, amaranth/pigweed.
 
Top