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The Art of Weeding

Weeding is an art, and not fully understood by gardeners who rip and pull without a tool, getting tops and a few roots, but leaving many more roots in the ground than in the wheelbarrow. If you are going to weed, you may as well really beat the bums. Get the entire weed, roots and all - and use a tool to help.

As you probably know, there are annual and perennial weeds. Annuals start off in March or early April, growing from seeds that were left in the ground - last year, or even several years previously. Even if you keep your beds relatively weed-free, or keep them from flowering and throwing seeds, seeds will find their way to your garden.

Annual seedlings are easiest to eliminate when small. Run a sharp hoe over the surface of the soil, and slice them off. Do this on a sunny day, and they are finished. It is important not to disturb the soil any more than you have to, as there weed seeds below the surface are lurking there, waiting for their chance. Brought to the surface and exposed to sunlight, they will germinate, starting the process all over again. If you've ignored the annual weeds up to now, many of them are quite large.

The key to eliminating perennial weeds is to get the entire plant, roots and all. If you grab onto a weed with your hand and give it a yank, you will leave some of the root system in the ground. For things like dandelions, thistles and grasses, that means the weed will return once you've gone away. If you listen, you will know whether or not you are doing a good job. If you hear a snapping sound when you weed, that means you are breaking off roots - and doing a bad job.

Some years ago I bought giant hogweed at a garden center. I was told it would produce 3-foot wide leaves, send up a six-foot flower stalk, and produce flowers like Queen Anne's lace the size of basketballs. It is a fascinating plant, and one I love, but it is now on the New Hampshire invasive species list, so I have dug all of mine out, which was not an easy task. Giant hogweed roots can go down 2 feet into the ground. PLEASE NOTE: Some people are highly allergic to the sap of this plant, particularly if then exposed to sunshine.

To extract the giant hogweed, I used a drain spade. This spade has a blade 16 inches long and about 5 inches wide. I plunged it into the soil about 6 inches away from the stalk, and sinking it in as far as I could. I tipped the handle back a little to loosen the soil. Then I repeated that step 3 or 4 more times, working my way around the plant. On a good rainy day the root could then be pulled by grabbing the top and leaning back, applying all the pressure I could muster - gently at first, then harder and harder.

For the biggest, toughest hogweed I had to dig a hole next to the root (much as I would for a tree stump) in order to loosen the roots. It is inevitable that some of the smaller roots stayed in the soil, so I will have to dig up new shoots as they surface. Weeding is an ongoing job, never done.

Grasses are insidious. Many send long exploratory roots sidewise, from lawn to garden. Edging, or creating a moat between lawn and garden bed, is a big help. And it helps to know what the roots look like. I use my CobraHead weeder to tease out the roots. I loosen the soil around the offending grass plant, and follow roots in whatever direction they are headed. The CobraHead has a curved shaft, so it is easy to push it into the soil and under a weed or clump of grass. That way I can pull from below as I pull from above.

A two-inch layer of mulch, or some newspapers covered with mulch, will do much to keep weeds from re-growing. In flower beds I use finely ground bark mulch. I'm suspicious of the bright red stuff, as some of it may be ground construction debris that has been dyed red and may be giving off chemicals. In the vegetable garden I use 6 sheets of newspaper covered with mulch hay, and it really does a good job; by fall the earthworms have eaten the newspapers.

Weeding should be done gently. As much as you may hate the offending weed, take your time. Try to keep the root system intact, so that weeds won't come back to humbug you later. But the bottom line is this: weeds, like death and taxes, can't be avoided. But weeds do give you a good excuse to be outdoors, communing with nature and keeping trim and healthy.

Henry Homeyer is the VT/NH associate editor of People, Places and Plants magazine. His website is www.gardening-guy.com. He may be contacted at gardening.guy@valley.net, or P.O. Box 364, Cornish Flat, NH 03746.