Weeding Woes

Weeding: The Necessary Chore

"That's Roman wormwood - that's pigweed - that's sorrel - that's piper-grass - have at him, chop him up, turn his roots upward to the sun, don't let him have a fibre in the shade, if you do he'll turn himself  t'other side up and be as green as a leek in two days.  A long war, not with cranes, but with weeds, those Trojans who had sun and rain and dews on their side.  Daily the beans saw me come to their rescue armed with a hoe, and thin the ranks of their enemies, filling up the trenches with weed dead.   May a lusty crest-waving Hector, that towered a whole foot above his crowding comrades, fell before my weapon and rolled in the dust." --  Henry David Thoreau, Walden, 1854

Let's face it: there's nothing sexy or appealing about weeding a garden. Of all the gardening chores, weeding is my least favorite. However, keeping weeds from stealing valuable water and nutrients from your plants is crucial. Below I have some suggestions in making weeding less onerous. 

1. Start weeding early in the growing season, and keep weeding throughout the life of this season's garden.Set aside 30 minutes to an hour each week, preferably in the cool of the morning, to tackle this chore. Don't let weeds get the upper hand.

2. Make weed pulling a meditative exercise: as you pull each weed, visualize removing a specific problem (money issues, for example) or character flaw (such as jealousy)  from your life.

3. You can also make weed pulling an exercise in emotional release. If something is bothering you, take it out on the weeds. Pull them, scream at them, stomp on them. Then, burn them in a fire-safe container. You will experience a much-need cathartic release and will feel much better. Of course, if your neighbors seem worried, you may need to explain to them and/or to the police what you're doing.

4. You can get even with some weeds by eating them: some weeds, such as dandelions, lamb's quarters, or purslane, are edible but should be picked young. Be sure you can identify a weed as edible; if in doubt, don't eat it. Also make sure that the weeds you pick are free from pesticides.

5. In order to reduce the need to weed, consider mulching your garden -- a topic for next time.

By Rosendahl [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons