Weeding the garden is like. . .

Yesterday I worked as if I were possessed.  It felt as if some unseen force were propelling me from one task to another.  My energy was boundless, my nerves a wreck.

You know that instant gratification you get from vacuuming or mopping your floor?  There is an immediate and noticeable change (for the better hopefully).  That is the way it felt yesterday to mow, weed eat, rototill, hoe, and pull weeds.  Each task I completed made that area look better, which made the next look worse, and therefore I felt that I had to keep going and going.

When I was little my mom had a sign hanging in our mudroom that read “Cleaning the house while the children are growing is like shoveling snow while it is still snowing.”  Amen.  I often feel like as I clean the house there are four tiny tornadoes following at my heels. It could make a person just want to throw up their hands and give up.  The same can be said about tending your organic garden. You weed diligently, and your row looks spectacular, you keep going through each row.  After a few you look back over your work, your chest puffed out, a triumphant grin.  And then you see it, in the first row, hundreds, no thousands, no millions of small green leaves poking up out of the ground. It’s a defeating feeling to realize that you will have to begin again before you have even finished.

The first few years of a new garden bed or area can be the worst.  Some weed seeds can survive for several years in the soil before germinating. So that even when you think you have them beat…..

Before you reach for your herbicide, blow torch, or scythe, there are a few less violent alternatives.  Personally, I’m a huge fan of mulch – not the black plastic kind. I have yet to be charmed by plastic mulch, we tried some last year and ended up ripping all of it out early in the season.  Although black plastic mulch may keep the weeds down and give your garden a neat appearance, it gives nothing back to the soil, and prevents any natural rejuvenation from occurring. I am in favor of natural, organic composted mulches which not only help with weed control but feed the plants and soil as well.  In fact if you come by the farm today you will see that 4 massive piles have been distributed along the edges of our gardens, which we will then be spreading along our rows. This mulch is a highly composted mix of horse manure, soil & tree grindings.  Mulching will eliminate a large amount of your weeding, and those weeds that grow up through the mulch are very easily removed, because of the way their roots grow and the lack of soil compaction.  You can also mulch with wood chips, straw, grass clippings, old newspaper, cardboard, etc.  There are some great books out there on the subject if you would like to learn more.

 

Weeding the garden is like. . .