Is that a weed?

A.A. Milne, of Winnie-the-Pooh fame, once wrote, “Weeds are flowers too, once you get to know them.” That may be true to an extent, and I do try to see beauty in all things.  Sometimes it is tough to tell what that tiny little plant is that is growing – is it a weed or did one of my flowers reseed itself?  It’s not always so obvious.  I admit, some things I just let go for a while to see what comes up.  But, now that the tomatoes and peppers are getting taller, the lettuce is filling in nicely, and all the flowers are blooming in their full glory, it is important to take the time to weed the garden. They can choke out your prized plants, robbing them of necessary water, sunlight, and nutrients.  Weeding doesn’t just have to be about pulling the unsightly pricker bushes. It can mean thinning out the carrots, radishes or beets, trimming shrubs back, and checking for pests.  If you are just pulling weeds, it is best to pick them when they are small, as once they grow and go to flower, it can be nearly impossible to get rid of them.  Try to weed when the soil is a bit moist. As we do not use chemicals in the garden, I pick the weeds by hand, using only a small trowel if the weed already has a deep tap root. To try to prevent them in the first place, we laid a thick layer of mulch down as soon as we planted our veggies and flowers. And yes, we also vacuumed the maple tree seeds with a Shop Vac to save some time! But as daunting as the task seems, weeding is necessary, so make it fun!  Maybe I am the only one, but I think the weeding sessions can be very therapeutic!  Put on the sunscreen, shades, and grab some music and a good knee pad.  Beethoven and Dave Brubeck frequently accompany me as I head out to the garden.  Although my legs may get a tad tired after a while, I feel oddly refreshed after each weeding session! Enjoy the time outside, deep in flowers and thoughts. Time spent in the garden is never wasted!