Plants must meet two criteria to be considered for admittance into that elite group of plants known as weeds. First it must specialize in growing in soil that has been disturbed by human activity. Equally important it must cause humans some annoyance (if it doesn\u2019t then it\u2019s merely a pioneer species). This definition of weeds takes us beyond the familiar annual or perennial species, to include woody shrubs such as Blackberry and Broom, or even trees like Cottonwood, Birch and Mesquite. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Weeds are nature\u2019s first line of defense against soil degradation\nand have an essential role in maintaining and increasing soil fertility. When\nshe quickly covers your newly dug planting bed with a vigorous crop of weeds,\nshe is telling you that you should never\nhave left the surface of the soil bare. You should always cover it with\nsomething. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The importance of weeds<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Weeds are natures soil-improving crops and they should be ours\ntoo. Deep-rooted weeds are beneficial in that they mine minerals from the\nsubsoil and bring them to the surface where they become available to other\nplants. Tap rooted species can break up\ncompacted subsoil and when they die and decay these become channels for\naeration and soil life. The accumulator\nplants have the ability to forage for scarce nutrients and concentrate them in\ntheir tissue. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
A flush of weeds makes a useful self-sown\ncover crop to protect and enrich the soil. The hardier species can act as a\ncover crop, to protect the soil and store nutrients over the winter. These\nshould be dug in or composted before they set seed in spring. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Weeds also provide cover and food for wildlife, including\npredatory and pollinating insects, birds, toads and more, <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Fast growing weeds produce an abundance of organic matter, which\nfeeds and stimulates soil organisms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Weeds are useful as companions\nand nurse plants. They help to camouflage crop plants and hide them from insect\npests and can even act as trap crops. For example many Brassica pests are more\nattracted to wild Brassicas (with their abundance of pungent oil) than to the\nrather insipid cultivated varieties. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Using weeds<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Many common weeds are edible and \/ or have medicinal properties\n(maybe mother earth decided to give us some consolation for the hassle of\nweeding). Dandelion, Winter cress, Plantain, Lambs Quarters, Chickweed,\nBurdock, Amaranth, Purslane are all great food plants, if gathered at the right\ntime and prepared properly (most have actually been cultivated at one time or\nanother). When you start to use the edible\nweeds, you realize they are often fully equal in flavor to the crops you are\ntrying to grow and a lot more nutritious. It\u2019s actually pretty silly planting and pampering your spinach and then\nripping out the equally good (or better) Lambs Quarters or Pigweed. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Weeds should be looked upon as another productive layer for the garden and are especially significant because they grow without you having to do anything. In fact you would be removing them anyway, even if you didn\u2019t eat them (and eating them is better than composting them.) <\/p>\n\n\n\n
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