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1. Lotus (farmerlotus@regenerate.social)'s status on Friday, 09-Jun-2023 02:48:29 JST Lotus

   So this is sort of a corollary to yesterday’s rant about landscape fabric and I know it goes against people’s ideas of “gardening” but…

   you don’t actually have to get rid of weeds.

   What we call “weeds” are typically just very resilient plants that function as pioneer species which establish quickly in degraded & disturbed areas.

   If you improve the conditions of the soil (via better aeration, water retention, nutrient & mineral cycles, etc) then the weed problem will solve itself.

   #gardening

   • Disinformation Purveyor :verified_think: likes this.
   • Disinformation Purveyor :verified_think: (thatguyoverthere@shitposter.club)'s status on Friday, 09-Jun-2023 02:59:38 JST Disinformation Purveyor :verified_think:

     in reply to
     @FarmerLotus One weed I have a hard time finding ways to deal with is poison ivy. I have to be very careful touching it as I tend to have a serious reaction. I know they are pioneers, but I haven't found anything that out competes it. This year I am trying alfalfa because I'm hoping the tap roots will help other things I plant establish better roots. I have several places in my yard where poison ivy grows right next to crop plants which makes harvest very difficult if I don't first remove the poison.
     
     I've tried deep (DEEP) mulch and poison ivy can push right through. One problem is that there is one vine which has gotten large enough that it grows berries and birds eat them, so I need to remove that vine (it's size makes it even more intimidating). I can probably kill it without removing it, but it will be pretty ugly.
     
     I have heard goats eat it, but I've also heard they only eat it if there isn't better food available. I also can't have any goats so doesn't really help even if they did. The chickens don't really care for it. I have had some success composting the green material, but it also has wood vines which are harder to compost. You can't burn it because breathing the smoke is worse than touching the plant. It's a monster of a plant. I would rather just about any other pioneer but poison ivy.
   • Lotus (farmerlotus@regenerate.social)'s status on Friday, 09-Jun-2023 02:59:39 JST Lotus

     in reply to

     Usually the 2nd succession of weeds here is bindweed & a few diff species of brassicas but along with that, I’ll usually see some annual rye grasses coming up too

     3rd succession brings more native perennial grasses, wildflowers, etc.

     But the point is, all of this is normal and expected and predictable.

     Weeds are good actually because they begin the process of covering the soil in disturbed areas. We can steer areas towards later succession perennial plants instead of trying to eradicate weeds

   • Lotus (farmerlotus@regenerate.social)'s status on Friday, 09-Jun-2023 02:59:40 JST Lotus

     in reply to

     Many plants that are considered weeds are edible and very nutritious.

     Learning to “read the weeds” is also fun because they can tell you all sorts of things about the conditions of the soil they are growing in.

     Once you start paying attention to what grows where, you will start to see patterns that can teach you a ton about the soil below.

   • Disinformation Purveyor :verified_think: (thatguyoverthere@shitposter.club)'s status on Friday, 09-Jun-2023 03:16:51 JST Disinformation Purveyor :verified_think:

     in reply to
     @FarmerLotus yeah sadly there isn't just one mother, but there is one vine that is definitely much more mature than the rest of the property. I think if I can get rid of the berries we can at least stop the spread and then maybe I can deal with specific areas one at a time. The problem right now is that it pops up just about everywhere.
   • Lotus (farmerlotus@regenerate.social)'s status on Friday, 09-Jun-2023 03:16:52 JST Lotus

     in reply to

     • Disinformation Purveyor :verified_think:

     @thatguyoverthere that does sound like a tricky one and yeah I’d prob just try to get rid of the mother vine in that situation.

     Luckily we don’t have that one here. Lots of mean cactus tho :P

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   • Disinformation Purveyor :verified_think: (thatguyoverthere@shitposter.club)'s status on Friday, 09-Jun-2023 03:17:40 JST Disinformation Purveyor :verified_think:

     in reply to
     @FarmerLotus thankfully no mean cacti here. No cactus grows naturally around here (Appalachia) at all