An Ode To Weeds

I keep hearing from my friends that their adult children, who never before showed an interest in gardening, now want to learn to grow their own vegetables. The spirit of '76 (1976, that is) is alive and well once again.

While I didn't think so at the time, I was lucky that I was expected to weed the vegetable garden as a kid. I learned a few things. And over the years, I've adapted those lessons to my northern clime and my wacky lifestyle. Here are a few things your kids might want to know.

1. Weeds are not bad. Weeds hold the soil in place when nothing else is growing there. Sure, they compete with other plants for water and nutrients, but they're not evil.
2. Tall weeds are easier to pull. At least, this is what I tell myself when they get really tall before I have a chance to pull them.
3. Really tall weeds can be useful. The world did not stop rotating on its axis the year the peas vined up on the tall weeds.
4. Containers gardens require less weeding. Our lawn is so sandy we're grateful for the green of the quackgrass and dandelions. I have a constant battle with quackgrass in the garden, but not in the containers, which I'll tell you more about another day.

The flower bed in front of the house looks pretty sad right now, because I weed what we're hoping to eat first and the rest when I can. It will all get done, eventually. But as usual at this time of year, when it seems we go from winter to summer overnight, I'm finding it hard to balance the need to weed with the need to be prepared for upcoming classes.

But here's another thing they don't tell you about weeding: Pulling weeds from soil helps give you the confidence to recognize and pull weeds from your life. Or to leave them alone, for now at least. Could it be that some person or commitment in your life only seems like a weed, but it's really helping to support something positive or anchoring the soil until you cultivate something else?

It's something to ponder, anyway, when things look wild and unruly and it seems there isn't quite enough time to make your world look like a magazine cover.

What do you think about while you're weeding?