A 4/20 Post All About Weed!

Ha!  Made you look!  Technically, I didn't lie.  This is a post about weed, just not the one you were hoping for.  

Alas, it's the gardening subject that people rarely talk about.  How to deal with pesky weeds!  It is truly the "hard work" that goes into having a garden that is both productive and beautiful to look at.  

Can you just let the weeds be?  Sure, I suppose.  But those weeds are competing with your plants for light, water and nutrients, so it's kinda like trying to survive with a crowd of people stealing most of your food and water every day.  Sure, with meager allowances, you wouldn't die.  But would you thrive?

Most of the garden blogs and websites push mulching as a way to keep weeds down.  In my raised vegetable beds, I think I've tried every form of mulch there is, from spread out newspaper, breathable fabric to tan bark and straw.  I've hated all of them for various reasons.  So instead, I just take the time to get hands in dirt and pull them out.

The result is a gloriously weed-free bed that lets the stars shine.

Spring is my weediest season, not only because of all the rain we get, but because I don't have much in the garden to edge them out.  I plant my vegetables rather intensively, so usually by mid-summer, my vegetables are crowding out the weeds and not the other way around.  

Late fall after I've pulled the last of my plants, I cover the beds with plastic which both keeps the weeds out but also solarizes the soil, serving double-duty of baking any weed seeds that are waiting for spring.  Solarizing also kills many soil-borne viruses.  So it's a plus-plus.

But beyond that, my weed abatement is just a matter of getting down with the dirt.

Tips for successful weeding:

Water!  Pulling weeds from dry dirt is hard and you're more likely to break off the tops of the weeds instead of truly pulling them up from the roots.  So give your beds a good soaking at least a few hours before you weed to soften the soil's grasp on those roots.

Good latex-coated gloves.  I bought mine from Harmony Farms in Petaluma/Sebastopol and have since gifted them to many friends and family. You can see the palms and fingers are coated with latex while the rest of the glove is a nice breathable stretchy fabric.  They protect your hands without getting wet and globby on you.

Pull them from the roots! Yes, you can rush the process by just grabbing the tops and yanking.  I've also got a very sharp hand hoe which cuts them off at the dirt line.  And while that works, I find the weeds come back sooner than later.  So I prefer taking the extra effort to pull them from the main stems, which will usually bring up the roots with them.

Grab a drink, turn on some music, and have a seat!  Years ago, my husband bought me one of these for Christmas.

I keep all my drip system supplies in it, and it serves double-duty as a handy seat for sitting down and pulling weeds.  Usually, I turn on some music, grab a frosty drink and sit myself down with a bucket then start yanking.  Often, there aren't as many weeds as it looks since many varieties we have here in Northern California are "spreaders".  They cover ground, but when you get your fingers under the plant and search out the main stem, you find what looks like a bunch of weeds is just one big one.

So there you have it!  Sorry if you were looking for a quick fix.  When it comes to weeds, there just isn't one.  And sorry again for the 4/20 bait and switch.  But how else was I going to get you here? 😆