What do you do when a weed is growing in your garden? Jump on and hack with the hoe, throw up our hands in despair or learn something new?
Take some time to look at these reliable weedy indicators and what they mean for your soil quality, in order to improve your garden and make it ready for next season!
WEEDS THAT INDICATE YOUR SOIL IS SOGGY
You might expect your site to be suffering from wet conditions if you see dock, foxtails, horsetail, and willows during the year. Other weeds thriving in these swamps are: goldenrod, Joe-Pye weed, oxeye, daisy, poison hemlock, rushes, and sedges.
So, what can you grow in these conditions? What about a nice garden full of plants that like wet feet! These include pussy willow and curly-wilted willow.
They’re both great for thriving in wet soil, or even just standing water because they do well with their roots constantly being covered in moist.
They also make great flower arrangements. You can also grow Japanese iris or Siberian Iris if you’re looking to add some color into your arrangements with flowers like these beauties.
WEEDS THAT INDICATE YOUR SOIL IS COMPACTED AND CRUSTY
You can tell that there is compacted soil because chicory and bindweed are prevalent. This means you usually see blue flowers on the roadside, in gardens where beds have been emptied, or where the soil has been worked while being wet!
If your weeds indicate compacted soil, it would be beneficial to plant white lupines and sweet clover as a cover crop.
Their roots are strong like those of pesky chicory which makes them easy for breaking up the ground with ease while also replenishing lost nutrients in order make sure that everything will grow well again soon!
The mustard family of weeds is not deterred by a hard crust on your soil – even if it’s very compacted. If you see these pesky plants flourishing in the garden, pull them up and plant closely next to brassica crops like broccoli or cauliflower instead; they can easily push through such soils.
We also advise you to add compost in order to aerate the soil, and work the soil ONLY when it’s dry in the future.
WEEDS THAT INDICATE YOUR SOIL IS SOUR
Dandelions, mullein, sorrel and stinging nettle all thrive in “sour” acidic soil. If you see these pests attacking your garden remember to grow plants that like their soil on the tart side such as hydrangeas or blueberries with assistance from a pH under 5 which will help keep them at bay.
And in your veggie garden: endive, rhubarb (grown for its stalklike leaves), shallots and potatoes are all great choices.
The best way to get plants that thrive in more neutral soil is by increasing its pH and adding lime. There are many ways you can do this, such as from dolomitic limestone or wood ashes but one thing we recommend for sure is compost!
Add enough of it so your garden has a 6-8 point difference between acidic (below 5)and alkaline levels; around 35 pounds per 1000 sq ft.
WEEDS THAT INDICATE YOUR SOIL IS SWEET
Campion, field peppergrass, nodding thistle (shown above), salad burnet and scarlet pimpernel all indicate a “sweet” alkaline soil.
The perfect plant for an alkaline soil is one that can tolerate some sweetness as well. Some good ornamental choices in this category are lavender, mountain pinks and Persian candytuft to name just a few!
To lower the pH of alkaline soil, add peat moss or elemental sulfur at a rate suggested by soil test results. Or just keep adding compost regularly to bring your soils in line with neutral standards!
WEEDS THAT INDICATE WORN-OUT SOIL
Here are some signs that your soil has poor fertility, and these include: Biennial wormwood, common mullein (generally found in fields where there’s been low maintenance), daisies; mugwort which can be seen with its feathery leaves as well as wild carrot or parsnips. The list goes on!
Perennials are often more resilient plants that need less food in the soil. These include: achillea, antennaria, artemisia, asclepias, centranthus, cerastium, coreopsis, echinops, eryngium, gaillardia, salvia, santolina, solidago, and stachys.
The edible ones are: beans (and other legumes), beets, carrots and parsnips. They can grow in soil that’s low on fertility as long as it has plenty of nutrients to help them get their energy from the ground up!
If you think your soil is lacking in fertility, have it tested. If the results reveal major deficiencies of any kind, organic or chemical fertilizers work for all three major nutrients: nitrogen (fish meal), phosphorus (bonemeal) and potassium(green sand).
WEEDS THAT INDICATE YOUR SOIL IS RICH
A patchwork of vibrant colors in the garden is an indication that your soil has rich nutrients. Chickweed, henbit and lamb’s-quarter love a healthy dose of phosphate! Redroot pigweed also indicates enough potash for their growth while knapweeds show signs if excess potassium. A lot of purslane and mustard indicate soil that is rich in phosphorus.
To make your soil as fertile and rich in nutrients as much as possible, plant heavy feeders like corn, broccoli, lettuce melons, squash, tomatoes, and peppers!