Written by Cinthia Milner of B.B. Barns
Learning to live with a little imperfection may actually be good for your garden.
Weeds. We’ve all heard the saying, “One person’s weed is another person’s wildflower” (Susan Wittig Albert), but who are we kidding? If the gardener didn’t plant it, it’s a weed. And seriously, we’ve spent our gardening careers pulling them. Why would we allow some to stay?
Geoff Lawton, a world-renowned permaculture consultant, designer, and teacher explains that weeds are not the problem, but instead, they can reveal problems to us. Specifically, weeds can teach us about our soils. They highlight what nutrient deficiencies exist, the alkalinity of the soil, compacted or loose soils, and perhaps more importantly, they help remedy many of these issues. Weeds are informative for the gardener when we stop to observe them.
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