It is time for us to look seriously at the world of weeds. Why? Because unwanted vegetative growth is a fact of life for gardeners. If our soil were unable to support a crop of weeds, it could not be expected to support the growth of flowers and vegetables.
Weeds are complex. They are devious and tenacious. They are worthy advisories that have spent millions of years devising ways to survive and persist.
Any study of the common weeds of lawn and garden should start with an awareness of their complexity. Think first of summer, annual weeds, both grassy and broadleaved, such as crabgrass, goosegrass, black medic, common knotweed and spotted spurge.
Add to them the perennial weeds such as dandelion, dock, clover, creeping woodsorrel and six dozen more. After which no more weeds are needed but it is time for the winter annual weeds like common chickweeds, annual bluegrass, henbit and deadnettle, and speedwell to start into growth.
What are "winter annuals"? They are plants that germinate in the fall and winter and grow slowly during the winter and rapidly in the spring. It is common to discover chickweed in full bloom at Christmastime. Winter annuals sow their seed in the spring, then die.
Do you find this discouraging litany of the versatility of weeds to be overpowering? It need not be. Knowledge is power! You now have the tools to actively engage the various types of weeds.
Annual weeds are currently ripe with seeds. Do not allow those seeds to be dispersed in your lawn and garden. Pull them up or cut them off at groundline (their roots will die and add organic matter to the soil). Dispose of the seed-laden stalks in a location separate from the compost pile. Forget about the crabgrass in your lawn. It has sown its seed and is in the process of dying.
Perennial weeds (remember dandelions and plantain) should be dug or pulled up as completely as possible and also kept out of the compost. As perennial weeds propagate themselves both by seeds and by vegetative — rhizomes, stolons, fleshy roots or tubers — they must be prevented from seeding and have all their below-ground parts removed.
There are pre- and post-emergent chemicals that can assist you. However, understand their mode of action, the degree of hazard they represent and their correct application before using them. For example, the fall is better (more efficient) than the spring to apply broadleaved herbicides (Weed-B-Gon) to lawn weeds, because in the fall the circulation is from the leaves to the roots while in the spring, the movement is all upward (against the flow of herbicide).
Be realistic. You will not control all the weeds on your property by one burst of energy. However, you will make a positive difference. Your soil contains a vast store of weed seed from previous years. By using cultivation, mulching and proper maintenance practices, you can be effective in your weedy battle. Good luck.
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