Controlling Garden Weeds by Barbara Pleasant

Controlling Garden Weeds

From a gardener’s viewpoint, weeds are any plants that insist on growing where you don’t want them to.

Garden weeds thrive on the constantly changing soil conditions in gardens as we till, plant, weed, and replant our beds, borders, and rows – plants like crabgrass, Bermuda grass, bindweed, pigweed, lambsquarters, and others.

It might come as a surprise to learn that the mission of gardeners and the objective of weeds are often the same – to bring stability to disturbed soil so the biological communities in those places can regain their lost functionality.

Weeds just go about things differently than we do.

Luckily for us gardeners, garden weeds depend on humans to provide the ideal conditions - open spaces, disturbed soil, and consistent moisture.

Knowing the conditions garden weeds need to survive and thrive in is a significant tool to create an ideal garden for our cultivated vegetables, herbs, and flowers but is inadequate for weeds.

This book walks you through what garden weeds need to thrive, how they stack the deck in their favor (and how to turn the tables on them!), as well as which approaches have the biggest impact on weeds to shrink their current and future populations in your garden.

Table of Contents

• Why Weeds?
• Weed Seeds and Self-Propagation
• The Weed Seed Bank
• Solar-Powered Weeds
• Underground Weeds
• The Secrets of Weed Survival
• The Weedy Advantage: Crop Mimicry
• Masquerading Weeds
• Weed-to-Plant Warfare
• Fighting the War Against Weeds
• Cover Crops
• Cover Crops and Wide-Row Planting
• Smother Crops
• Mulches
• Store-Bought Mulches
• Hands-On Weeding
• About Herbicides
• Weed Disposal
• Beware of Cultivating Invasive Plants
• Ten Tips for Managing Your Weeds
• The Brighter Side of Weeds
• Index of Weed Illustrations

Learn More

• Cover Crops - Better Soil in a Month
• Planting Cover Crops for a Better Garden
• Cover Crops Beat Garden Weeds
• Cover Crops FAQ
• Which Cover Crop is Best for Me?

From the soil to the seed to the food you eat - we'll help you grow your best garden!