How to Reduce Your Time Weeding

Posted on Thursday, August 24, 2023 · Leave a Comment 

The recent rains have kept many gardeners from getting outdoors to weed, and weeds have loved the rain and are growing like Boy Scouts on “Free Ice Cream Day” at the Ben and Jerry’s factory. But don’t give up. Weeds also pull well now, with the soft, moist or soggy soil, so get to work!

 

Seeds and roots of dock, a big weed

Recently I spent an hour or so pulling dock (Rumex spp.), a coarse, tall weed that can get to be five-feet tall or more. There are several species of dock, but all are about the same. And all have deep, fleshy roots that often fork and divide deep in the ground.

 

I took a garden fork and plunged it into the soil a few inches from each clump of weeds and tipped back he handle to loosen the soil. For the biggest clumps I used the fork in up to four places – once on each side. Then I grasped the clump of strong stems down low and leaned back, allowing all my weight to slowly pull out the weed. And out they came, roots and all. Very satisfying. If I tried that when the soil was dry, it would have been much more difficult and resulted in broken roots which would re-sprout the pesky weeds.

 

I worked on those dock plants now as they had already flowered and had formed seeds – which I don’t want in the soil. If pressed for time, I could have just cut the plants at ground level so the seeds would not be dispersed, but I favored pulling the weeds and getting rid of them once and for all.  

 

Herbalists use dock for various concoctions, not the least of which, I have read, is to prevent “elf sickness”. Not much of that around here, but if you have a problem with it, consult “Just Weeds: History, Myths and Uses” by Pamela Jones (Chapters Publishing, 1994). It’s an interesting and amusing read.

 

Weeds can’t compete with these big hosta plants

I’ve been working on most of my flower gardens for at least 40 years and have lots of mature plants. This allows me to brag that in some beds I need not weed at all – or only very occasionally. How is that? The plants are growing so close together that most weeds cannot compete. The weeds are shaded out – or starved for nutrients and moisture by plants with deep roots and thick leaves.

 

One of those plants good for outcompeting weeds is the ever-present shade lover, hosta. Although I sometimes plant daffodils between hostas, the daffies bloom and the foliage dies back by the time hostas are fully leafed-out. Most common weeds will not compete well with hostas.

 

Bigroot geranium makes a nice groundcover that out competes most weeds

Bigroot geranium (Geranium macrorrhizum) is another plant that outcompetes weeds. I use it as a groundcover – the leaves stand 12-inches tall or more, and it blooms with pink, magenta or white flowers in early summer. It works well in dry shade, but will grow in sun or shade. It spreads by root, so plant three plants a foot apart in a triangle and let them fill in the space. Once well-established, it outcompetes most anything.

 

What else? Sweet Woodruff (Galium odoratum) is good for sun or shade and once established, spreads well. It stands about 8 inches tall, and has fragrant white flowers in the spring. It may be a bit too aggressive, though. It can run roughshod over more delicate plants, growing right up to them and stealing moisture and nutrients. This year I plan to weed some out of a dry shade bed where it is diminishing the effectiveness of some primroses.

 

Dead nettles (Lamium spp.) is another shade to part-shade ground cover and like the plants above, is non-native here in the United States. It is low-growing with green and silver or white leaves and attractive small flowers that can be pink, white or even yellow, depending on the species. Rarely do I see grasses or weeds coming through plantings of it.

 

As to full-sun plants there are many that, once established outcompete weeds. Among those are Amsonia, astillbe, black-eyed Susans, daylilies, daises, European wild ginger, Siberian iris, Helenium, phlox, iris, and goldenrod. But even these take time to establish themselves. Not only that, you need three or more of each in a planting, and patience.

 

A perennial plant that will form a clump two or three feet wide when mature will come in an 8-inch pot. For most plants, it will take three years – or more – to get to full size. If you plant them 18 inches apart, they will fill in and their leaves touch sooner than if you plant them farther apart. Think of dice with 3 or 5 dots. Those are good patterns for planting if you want overlap, much better than planting them in a row.

 

Weeds will grow almost anywhere, even in your gravel driveway. Cultivated plants need some help to get established. So when you plant, dig a wide hole, say two feet wide for an 8-inch potted plant. Put in two or more shovels of compost and stir it up, mixing the native soil with the compost. I always add some organic slow-release fertilizers to the hole, too. That first year water when dry.

 

Mulch helps young plantings to get established. They help keep weed seeds from germinating and hold in moisture. You will still have to weed for a few years while getting your flower bed to maturity.

 

There is no such thing as a weed-free garden. But with time and effort, you can reduce the work considerably once established.

 

Henry is a lifetime organic gardener living in Cornish, NH. Reach him at henry.homeyer@comcast.net. His website is www.Gardening-Guy.com.

Filed under Article · Tagged with big root geranium, dock, weeding strategy

Shade Annuals

Last fall a reader alerted me to the fungal disease that has devastated that wonderful shade annual, impatiens, throughout much of New England. The  disease, called impatiens downy mildew, will be a problem again for most gardeners this year. Any garden that had the disease last year will have it again this year – even our coldest winters will not cleanse the soil of it. I wish I had known about it sooner, as prompt removal of affected plants may stop the spread of the disease. So if you did not have the disease last year, watch your plants carefully this year and bag and dispose of any diseased plants promptly.

Impatiens downy mildew symptoms are these: yellowing of leaves, then a limp appearance, as if it needs to be watered. Next comes a downy white fungal growth on the undersides of leaves. Then leaves and flowers drop, leaving just a stem with a few leaves on top – as if slugs had eaten the leaves. I have read that if you don’t plant impatiens in a site that has had the disease for a year or two, the soil may become free of disease. But I wouldn’t count on it. 

There are two related plants that will thrive in shade or part shade and that are not susceptible to the mildew: New Guinea impatiens and SunPatiens, which is a trademarked hybrid. SunPatiens is advertised as good for part sun to sun – but not deep shade.  But it is being marketed as a replacement of impatiens. I wonder if it will be able to bloom as vigorously as our old favorite in full shade. Both are generally sold in individual pots for around $5, quite an upgrade from a six-pack for $3.50 or so that I was accustomed to paying for impatiens in past years. 

Torenia

Another plant that is being touted as a replacement for impatiens is Torenia. I spoke to two landscapers who have used Torenia in past years and say that it is nice enough, but it will not satisfy impatiens-lovers. I’ve heard that it does not have as many blossoms per plant, generally, and is often available in just a few colors – shades of blue and purple, and in white. However, I have found it for sale in multi-packs in a few places and did find one nursery with 4-packs that listed rose, magenta, lemon drops and white as colors available.

I have used bedding lobelia as a nice shade annual, though in my experience it wants a little sun or filtered sun. I love the intense blue that it often displays, though it is available in other colors, too. I started seeds indoors back on April 17, a mix called ‘Cascade of Color’ that promised blue, blue with a white eye, lilac, red, ruby and white.

Right now my lobelia seedlings are only 2 inches tall but I assume they will take right off when I separate them and get them in the ground. The only problem with a mix like that is that one cannot determine what color any given seedling will be – unless you wait for them to bloom in the pot. And, when I read the seed packet (from Botanical Interests) just now, I see that this variety is advertised for full sun. I have plenty, so I’ll try some in shade, too.

European Wild Ginger

So what else can we do to provide color in shade? Try some perennials. Granted, most only bloom for 1 to 3 weeks, but if you select plants with good foliage they can be a joy all summer. I love European wild ginger (Asarum europaeum) for its very glossy dark green leaves. It forms a nice expanding clump, even in dry shade with competition from tree roots. The blossoms are hidden beneath the foliage, but it doesn’t matter to me. This is a great shade plant. I plant them in clumps of three about 18 inches from center to center.

Then there is bigroot geranium (Geranium macrorhizum). Not to be confused with your mom’s red geraniums (which are technically not geraniums at all), this is a nice spreading plant that thrives in full shade and blooms with pink, magenta or white flowers in late May or early June. The leaves look good all summer, each plant a spreading mound 12 to 18 inches tall and 15 inches wide. I use it as a groundcover. I have read that it will do well in sun, too, and that it tolerates a wide range of soil and pH conditions. If it wanders too far? It pulls easily, and you can give the roots to someone who doesn’t have it.

I have never tried either the geranium or the ginger in a pot, but will this year and grow them on my north-facing, shady deck. I’ll give them a 50-50 mix of standard potting soil and compost, and I bet they look just fine.

It seems that every year there is a new bug or a new disease that threatens some plant in our garden. I guess we will have to keep on adapting and changing – just like the pests do. Good luck!

Henry Homeyer is the author of 4 gardening books and a children’s fantasy-adventure called Wobar and the Quest for the Magic Calumet. You may reach him at PO Box 364, Cornish Flat, NH 03746 or henry.homeyer@comcast.net.\

Copyright © 2014 Henry Homeyer

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