FIMBY: Ways to win the fight against weeds

This is another in our “Food in My Back Yard” series, dedicated to edible gardening.

What’s the hardest part about gardening? Any experienced gardener will answer immediately (and emphatically): Weeds!

More time is spent weeding – the ongoing chore of weed removal – than planning or planting. Weeding makes up a big part of gardening activity. A lot of time (and angst) can be saved by keeping weeds (at least semi) under control.

By tackling weeds from the outset, your garden experience will be much more rewarding (and relaxing).

What is a weed? It’s an “unwanted plant,” something growing in the wrong place and competing with the things you’re actually trying to grow.

But certain attributes elevate a misplaced seedling into a bad weed. The plants we tend to think of as bad weeds are survivors; they can take summer heat as well as winter cold. They grow extremely rapidly and often from multiple ways (seed, corns or little segments of rhizome; we’re looking at you, nutsedge). When given the opportunity, they can take over a garden.

Unusually thuggish in their aggressive growing habits, weeds deny their neighbors sun, water and nutrients. For gardeners, they are a pain – mentally and physically – as we battle their invasion.

According to the Weed Science Society of America, only 3% of the world’s 250,000-plus plant species behave like weeds – but that’s enough. The toughest weeds (and those that endanger the environment and economy) are classified as “noxious.”

Our most common weeds are not California native wildflowers but imported plants brought here from somewhere else. Often, they arrived as ornamentals that escaped urban landscaping and invaded wildlands and farmland alike. (Highway iceplant, Bermudagrass and pampas grass are well-known examples.)

Just about any plant that produces an abundance of seed can become a weed. For example, a single yellow starthistle can produce 75,000 seeds. Weeds often have deep roots (and drought resistance). Field bindweed, among the worst of the worst, can send roots 20 feet down and 10 feet in each direction – in a single season. (No surprise, starthistle and bindweed are both considered noxious.)

How can you get the upper hand on weeds? Constant vigilance; grab ’em while they’re small.

As soon as weeds appear (and they will), pull them. That’s easiest now when they’re just beginning their spring growth. If they’ve grown more than a few inches tall, whack them with a hoe. Aim the blade so it hits about an inch below the soil line; that cuts the weed off below the crown so it’s less likely to resprout.

Unless your garden started with all sterile potting mix and is fully contained, more weed seed is waiting in the soil to replace that removed plant. The less you turn the soil, the fewer weed seeds make it to the surface where they can sprout.

To keep weeds down (and seed buried), use mulch. A 3-inch layer of organic mulch (leaves, ground bark, straw, etc.) or compost will smother most baby weed plants. Mulch also helps maintain soil moisture and keeps plant roots comfortable during summer heat.

Fighting weeds takes diligence – especially when they seem to be growing before your eyes. Remember: To stop their cycle, don’t let them go to seed. If you see flowers on those unwanted plants, they’ve got to go now! Otherwise, you’re multiplying your future work.

The University of California’s integrated pest management program has excellent resources on weed identification and control including a detailed weed gallery. Find it at https://ipm.ucanr.edu/PMG/weeds_intro.html.

One more thing: Don’t plant a future weed. Avoid introducing invasive plants to your landscape. Learn more about invasive plants at https://www.cal-ipc.org/.