ORGANIC GARDENING
Weeds can actually be beneficial to your garden.
WEEDS IN THE GARDEN
By S. MICHAL BENNETT Photography By JOEL RINER
I have to admit, there are few things more satisfying than pull- ing weeds and then standing back and admiring the neat, clean space around your plants. When I was a teenager, my family moved into a new house. The back- yard was a decent size, but one-third of it was completely overgrown with weeds and tangled shrubs. That first summer, my mom got me and my sisters out into the Texas heat, and we chopped, pulled and dug out the mess of green things. The yard sud- denly seemed twice as spacious, and we soon planted vegetables in the newly cleaned corner. More recently, I got to know a friend named Sergei Boutenko (ser-
geiboutenko.com) who educated me on edible plants in the wild — and in the urban jungle. We as a culture have come to accept that undesirable plants in our lawns, landscapes and gardens are weed pests, and yes, it’s true that weeds compete with desir- able plants for nutrients and space. They can also stunt growth and re- duce produce yields in your garden while proliferating quickly if not kept in check. If you’ve seen enough TV commercials, it’s likely you’re fa- miliar with the many Roundup ads encouraging you to “point and shoot” and letting you know that “the only good weed is a weed that’s dead.” But, I disagree. If managed well rather than simply exterminat- ed, weeds can also attract pollina-
tors, provide additional food sources, and even bring a wild beauty to your space. The key is to pull (satisfying but may stir up dormant seeds) or cut (keeps the soil intact while removing the parts that are photosynthesiz- ing) the weeds in congested or un- desirable places, while leaving a few plants that aren’t in the way or caus- ing damage to your vegetables, lawn or flower beds. On the weedy plants that you do keep, cut flowers and tops before they begin to seed. This inhib- its it from spreading prolifically. A few springs ago, my city’s parks department released a statement asking residents to let the dandeli- ons in their lawns bloom that season. Dandelions attract honeybees, bum- blebees, and a bunch of other pollina-
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