This is my 14th post in the 31 Blogs in 31 Days Challenge. Thank you all for taking the time to read and share these!
“I love having my hands in the dirt. It is never a science and always an art. There are no rules. And if it comes down to me versus that weed I’m trying to pull out of the ground that doesn’t want to come out? I know I’ll win.”
~Matthew McConaughey
I think the gardening gurus turn weeding into an art and a science to make it more alluring for us. I have to admit it is a chore. Not a nice one either. It is a chore that is so easily ignored, put off and delayed it is made much worse. The task of going out and confronting and defeating the weed is not how I love to spend my time. Weeds create a lot of questions. I mean really they are just weeds, just a few of them there in the garden. They are not too big. Not even big enough to pull yet. They won’t hurt it. Maybe they are just an unloved plant or it will flower and be amazing? What if this weed is really an herb or a valuable pollinator or feeds butterflies?
And so you go and let them grow. Meanwhile there are all these other things you need to do instead of weeding. Cooking, cleaning, working, laundry are just the tip of the iceberg, the basics so to speak. Of course then there is my list of things that need to happen when you are renovating a house and starting a new business. Cleaning out the attic and basement, finishing painting the trim in the living room, painting the library and bedrooms, figuring out how to remove and paint those retro metal kitchen cabinets. Then you have the next list of things that get in the way that are not really needs so to speak but, desires. Things I would rather be doing instead of weeding. Going for a bike ride, getting a massage, giving a massage, reading…the list could be very long.
Eventually though the weeds get my attention. Bindweed overtaking the precious foxglove, climbing and investing itself opportunistically before it can even bloom. Canadian Thistle shooting up in the middle of the Salvia, how dare it. This is not pretty.
Harsh reality is that weeds are taking up valuable space in my garden, weeds compete with other plants for nutrients, water and light, They are harmful and opportunistic. They can also be voracious. So they will affect the health, growth and blooms of the plants I intend to be in the garden.
I will have to get better at this. After it is done I do enjoy the garden, yard and my life more. It is a real sense of accomplishment. It is at once cathartic, cleansing and great exercise. Weeding can’t be all bad. I have to admit that my husband does more than I do and he never complains. He has an attitude about it very much like Matthew McConaughey.
So here are my little tips;
- Pull weeds before they go to seed and spread around the garden.
- Really go for getting the whole weed including the root.
- Little weeds are actually easier to pull because they haven’t got a strong root system yet.
- For nasty deep tap roots like dandelions, pull straight up with a little pressure on either side of the stem using a tool with small V-shaped end. If you have a lot of dandelions invest in a long handled tool that will help save your back.
- For weeds with shallow invasive root systems that spread everywhere, try scraping the surface of the soil with that wicked three pronged garden tool to drag out as much of the root system as possible.
After all the garden feeds my soul and is important but, what if the garden was my body?
All those tight spots, aches and pains are the weeds. If they aren’t removed, they will get worse. They are stealing your energy and can be voracious too.
Getting a massage is like weeding the garden of your body!
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