By Tina Finneyfrock tinfin(a)juno.com
The amount of time, money and energy devoted to the eradication
of weeds is probably equal to or more than the enjoyment of our
cultivated crops. Weeds are plants too, though, and each species
has a story to tell.
I find that there are two kinds of weed: those that are truly
invasive, which are really worth getting rid of, and those we can
live with because they are attractive or useful in some way. In
reading the history of the town of Lebanon, I found that 100 years
ago, people were paid to uproot Bullthistle. This plant, however,
is the proud national plant of Scotland, and along with Gorse, is
credited with keeping invading armies out of their country.
Quack grass is my totally unwanted weed. The roots are known to
aid in kidney diseases, but other plants can do the same and
besides, I have enough of this tenacious growth to cure the entire
world population of kidney trouble. It is an ongoing struggle that
will never end. There are useful weeds that come up in the middle
of flower beds that I prefer not be there, so I pull them. Many
times, though, I'll pile them up and immediately make them into a
remedy or a salad.
Looking at weeds for what information they can tell us about our
soil and environment is a great way to see them as gardening
helpers or mini Extension Agents. After learning from your weeds,
you can still eradicate them if you wish, but do so based on soil
improvements instead of pesticides and incessant weeding.
The following common weeds in your area can alert you to
nutrient shortages or excesses and overall soil health. Some weeds
love good soil and let you know you've done a great job, while a
second bloom of some weeds may show that the soil is declining.
Knowledge of what the presence of certain weeds means helps you to
manage your soil in a more productive and less haphazard manner.
Your neighbor may need more lime, but what do YOUR weeds say
-
Bindweed - poor drainage, compacted dirt caused by
tilling while wet.
-
Mustard - (includes Shepherd's Purse and Peppergrass) -
too much potassium and sodium, indicates hard pan. These plants are
increased by building roads, as compacted soil from roads are seed
beds. Plants then spread into nearby fields. These are highly
medicinal and nutritious which are used as circulatory tonics, to
stop bleeding and they taste great in salads.
-
Lamb's Quarters - this annual can produce up to 40,000
seeds per plant! They love to grow in well-manured, cultivated
soil. The leaves are wonderful in quiche or spankopitas and are
very rich in nutrients, much like spinach.
-
Wild Carrot - (Queen Anne's Lace) - Shows that poor soil
is improving. If the roots are well formed, there is humus. If the
roots are knotty, the soil is compacted, but rich.
-
Water Hemlock - Poor drainage - Poisonous!
-
Plantain - Grows only in compacted soil. The leaves are
excellent poultices for wounds, stings or hemorrhoids.
-
Pigweed (Amaranthus spinosis) - Cultivated,
light, dry sandy soil.
-
Nightshade/Bittersweet - Poor, overcultivated soil which
has been used for heavy feeding crops.
-
Cinquefoils - Hard pan. Poor soil needing lime.
-
Wild Strawberry - Same indicators as cinquefoil.
-
Chickweed - Good, fertile, cultivated soil. These plants
bloom under the snow, and are nutritious and good in salads all
year long.
-
Burdock - Too much lime, creating a gypsum soil. Aside
from being highly medicinal, these plants recover the soils
fertility.
-
Daisy - If these are growing well, the soil is too
acidic.
-
Chicory - Excellent soil.
-
Clovers - Grow in poor soil, and work to rebuild
it.
-
Dandelions - Actually PRODUCE humus (as do nettles) just
like earthworms! Soil that won't grow them is totally unfit.
-
Mallows - Potassium excess, wet, sandy soil.
-
Milkweed - Moist, cultivated soils. This plant is useful
at all stages of growth medicinally and to industry. At certain
stages, it is useful as a food also. The white sap is an athlete's
foot remedy and helps with wart removal.
-
Horse Nettle - This prickly plant shows areas of crusted
soil produced by frequent flood/drainage cycles.
The battle with weeds is one we will never win because they
are not weak, hybridized specimens, they are adapted creatures that
can withstand poor soil conditions. No matter what you do in your
yard, your neighbor's actions-or lack of them will affect your
soil. Relax and learn to live with them. Use them for a mulch. The
most important thing is to cultivate before they go to seed and
year after year, you may see a decline in population, but weeds, as
an entity, aren't going away. Besides, without them, the landscape
would look pretty dreary. Think of weeds as pestering acquaintances
- you don't want too many of them, but their idiosyncrasies and
color make the tapestry of life a bit more interesting.
