Wild weeds: want them or not?
I must be one of the rare few who like weeds. Yellow wood sorrel is considered a weed. The two pots of ferns growing are weeds, appearing suddenly and totally taking over the former occupants (mint and an ornamental – coleus, I think). Then again, I must be one of those people who believe that you can eat your weeds.
But the gardener in me, the strict “No weeds!” school mama, will end up pinching off tiny sprouts of unknown plants from the soil. Weeds can choke the life out of many plants. So, I have to make a value judgment: which weed to weed or to keep?
So what are your favorite weeds and your most hated?
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Jolantru's gardening journal
This entry is about Jolantru's adventures in gardening.
Singapore., Singapore
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Cmagnus wrote:
I am generally indifferent to weeds. I don’t have any weed I love, but I will tolerate lots of them. I think a lawn looks better when it’s full of interesting weeds than when it’s just plain grass. The only thing I hate is nightshade. It has a history of popping up in my edibles and looking a lot like them. It’s pretty, but I’m always afraid I’ll accidentally eat it so I try to be fairly ruthless with it.
Posted on 20 Nov 08 (about 1 months ago)
Jolantru wrote:
Ooo, nightshade. Ugh, I have read stuff about it and it is poisonous as heck. For me, I like it when the lawn (if I ever get to have one) has weeds. I am a sucker for yellow wood sorrel, Cupid’s Shaving bush and sedges. :P
Posted on 20 Nov 08 (about 1 months ago)
Craftscout wrote:
My mom (my personal garden guru) always taught me that a weed is just a plant growing where you don’t want it. One of the most pernicious “weeds” in this area is purslane – a wild edible green prized in just about every other country except the US! :) I have it growing all over the place, and leave it because it is so pretty.
Weeds are not welcome in my veggies, though.
Posted on 20 Nov 08 (about 1 months ago)
Rainymountain wrote:
My first garden in Saskatoon was a complete weed patch and it was too late in the season to grow anything other than salad so I went out and bought ‘Edible Garden Weeds’ in the hope there was something I could salvage. :-)
Posted on 20 Nov 08 (about 1 months ago)
Jolantru wrote:
lol I have been trying to look for purslane (available here at markets) to grow. I guess one man’s weed is another man’s vegetable.
Posted on 21 Nov 08 (about 1 months ago)
Nax wrote:
I tend to pull the weeds around the vegetables and herbs so they don’t “steal” nutrients or shade the plants, but generally I’m pretty tolerant. I’ve got some really nice blue flowers that I let go, and lots of purslane. I pull the rare broadleaf in my lawn, but I let everything else go, especially the clover which is a legume and I think keeps the lawn healthy. I just don’t get that many weeds because I’ve planted my beds quite densely— they just can’t get any air. I’d like to be able to tame the wild onions; they’re kind of nuisance, and keep the Queen Anne’s Lace contained, but meh. Maybe I’ve got so few pests because of those two weeds. (My weed set on flickr. Help me ID them!)
Posted on 25 Nov 08 (about 1 months ago)
Jolantru wrote:
I just browsed your flickr set, Nax. :)
The mullein is HUGE. o_O
Lamb’s quarters is apparently edible, like spinach. But should be eaten in moderation.
Posted on 25 Nov 08 (about 1 months ago)