Horticultural misfits reveal vital data about our soil, and can even bring benefits if you get the balance right. Graham Burnett presents a lesson in Zen and the art of weed maintenance

I think it was Eeyore who said to Winnie-the-Pooh, “Weeds are flowers too, once you get to know them.” Gardeners often ask, “Is this a plant or a weed?” whenever something unidentified pops up on the plot. It’s a question that has always bemused me, because a weed is of course a plant – it’s just growing in a place we’d prefer it not to. But adopting a permaculture “problem is the solution” approach might offer us a small shift in perspective. Just like Eeyore, Tigger and all of Pooh’s misfit companions in AA Milne’s timeless stories, weeds have their own, sometimes annoying, habits, yet we can value and accept them for what they are.

The adventures of Pooh and his friends embody generosity towards the misunderstood or marginalised, and a Zen-like appreciation of their hidden strengths. In the same spirit, nature abhors a vacuum, and just as Tigger bounces in uninvited, any soil that is left bare will quickly be colonised by what we might dismiss as weeds. The arrival of these ruderal pioneers is inevitable: it’s the first stage of natural succession, evolving eventually to a mature woodland ecosystem. So rather than constantly battling to eradicate these volunteers, why not adopt a more philosophical approach and change our mindset to think of them as plants whose virtues have yet to be discovered?

They can teach us much about the condition of our land, for instance. The presence of chickweed (Stellaria media), cleavers (Galium aparine), and fat hen (Chenopodium album) suggest fertile soil, while mare’s tail (Equisetum arvense) and creeping buttercup (Ranunculus repens) are signs of compaction and potential drainage problems. Ox-eye daisies (Leucanthemum vulgare), and plantain (Plantago major) will thrive on acid soils, but milk thistle (Silybum marianum) and wormwood (Artemisia absinthium) prefer alkalinity.

In addition, comfrey (Symphytum officinale), nettles (Urtica dioicia), common dock (Rumex crispus) and many others act as dynamic accumulators, mining the subsoil for minerals and nutrients with their roots, making these available to other crops through composting or turning into liquid feeds by rotting them down in rainwater.

So-called weeds also increase biodiversity, and provide habitat, food and shelter for beneficial wildlife. Many are edible (see Idler #108), and have medicinal properties as well a whole host of other uses and functions. I’d recommend Audrey Wynne Hatfield’s lovely little publication How to Enjoy Your Weeds to anyone who wants to know more. Published in 1969 and hand-illustrated with her own lino-cut artwork, it’s a wealth of information and traditional wisdom. It seems to be out of print at the moment, but inexpensive second-hand copies are easily found online.

Now, given half a chance, many of these wild plants will of course spread and compete with our food crops, quickly returning cultivated land to wilderness. Not so great if the goal is to feed yourself or obtain any level of self-sufficiency. I remember Penny Rimbaud of Crass once telling me that in the early days of setting up Dial House as an open-door community he decided to adopt a “hands off” approach to the garden’s vegetable plot to see if the residents could support themselves by foraging a diet from the plants that naturally arrived and thrived. The experiment didn’t last very long.

As with so much in life, it’s all about balance. We might not want our potatoes, beans and tomatoes swamped out by couch-grass (Agropyrons repens), docks and nettles, but maybe we could consider tolerating wild visitors that are growing away from productive areas to some degree? Veganic smallholder Iain Tolhurst advocates the inclusion of “conservation headlands” into his productive systems, intentionally leaving strategically sited uncultivated wild areas around his market gardens to provide habitat for beneficial insects and pollinators.

Managing Your Weeds
Weeds are generally either annual or perennial in habit – understanding this is key to any management strategy that avoids unpleasant herbicides. Annual ones include things like goosegrass, chickweed, fat hen and groundsel (Senecio vulgaris). These are short-lived, growing from seed each year and dying at the end of the season. They’re usually fairly easily controlled by light hoeing as soon as they appear, and certainly before they have a chance to set seed – “One year’s seeding, seven years’ weeding” as the old saying reminds us.

Perennial weeds with deep tap roots or rhizomes, including dock, bindweed (Convolvulus arvensis), couch grass and mare’s tail, live for several years and are harder to permanently remove, requiring a different approach. Repeated cutting weakens them over time by depleting root reserves, but patience is essential. Covering infested ground with a light-excluding membrane or cardboard mulch for a full growing season can exhaust many species without any digging. For bindweed in particular, careful hand-pulling of young shoots throughout the season, before they have a chance to photosynthesize and replenish the root, is the most reliable method. Digging up roots risks fragmenting them and spreading the problem further.

As pointed out above, bare soil is an invitation for weeds. One of the most effective long-term strategies is to ensure the ground is never bare for long, either through constant cropping, or sowing “green manures” such as phacelia or mustard (see Idler #104) after crops are harvested.

Graham’s latest book, Make Compost, Not Work! – Gardening Columns from the Idler, is available from spiralseed.co.uk with a special 10% off for Idler readers – quote IDLER25 at the online checkout.

This article is from Idler #110.

TODAY AT THE IDLER FESTIVAL

Today’s highlights include:
Prue Leith in conversation with Matthew Stadlen
Enshittification with Cory Doctorow & Tom Hodgkinson
Jah Wobble in conversation with Suzi Feay
Charlie Higson in conversation with Tom Hodgkinson
Rowan Williams in conversation with Florence Read
Classical Lounge with Georgia Mann
Esther Freud in conversation with Rowan Pelling

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