When I turned 16 and procured a job at McDonaldâs, my grandfather arranged for me to use my auntâs old 1972 Honda Civic hatchback. I loved that car and the freedom it afforded me. It was small and old but it was mine. As you can imagine, I was heavily involved in Future Farmers of America in high school. Part of being involved in FFA included showing ears of field corn at the McHenry County Fair. My dad and I harvested the corn; we put it in a half bushel basket with an FFA tie for decoration. I still have the blue ribbon that I won.
While transporting the corn in the basket seat, a few kernels fell off and went underneath the lining of the Honda. They started to germinate on the floorboard between the metal and the black fabric. I thought it was wonderful; I had corn growing in my car! I was so proud, I showed my grandfather. He promptly pulled them out and threw them away.
âWhat is a weed? I have heard it said that there are sixty definitions. For me, a weed is a plant out of place,â Donald Cullross Peattie once said.
Whatever the definition of a weed, there are certainly an overabundance of them this year. They grow in between our perennial flowers, in the middle of shrubs, in cracks between the sidewalk and pavers, in our beautiful lawn. Virtually anywhere there is something that they can sink their roots into, they will grow. This year, at times, it seems the weeds are growing better than the plants that we actually want in our landscaping. There are many ways to remove weeds from your landscaping. This article will detail a few.
The most common method is simply hand cultivation. This morning, I noticed a few weeds growing in a gravel area in our garden center. I simply bent down and pulled them out with the majority of the roots still attached. It was surprisingly easy because their roots were in gravel and the ground was moist. Pulling those same weeds out if they had been in a mulched landscaping area would have been a bit more difficult and I would have not gotten nearly as many roots, but the weeds should have come out. Using a hoe to remove weeds in a mulched area helps to dig out more of the roots. Had those weeds been in the lawn, it would have been virtually impossible to pull them up with any hope of getting a good portion of their root system.
Removing or killing the roots of the weeds is the primary objective when weeding. Yes, just removing the tops makes the area look much better, but with only the tops gone and the root system still in place, the weeds will grow back pretty quickly.
Another method of weed control is using an herbicide. There are a wide variety of commercial herbicides. Pre-emergent herbicides work to suppress the weeds before they grown. Preen is an example of a pre-emergent herbicide. Preen doesnât kill the weeds that are already growing, it just suppresses weeds that might grow in the future. Preen would be best used early in the spring and throughout the summer, especially after the beds have been weeded and/or mulch has been spread. Bonide Total Vegetation Killer is an example of a non selective herbicide. It has the potential to kill whatever it is sprayed on. The Total Vegetation Killer could appropriately be used if there was nothing in a particular area that you wanted to keep alive. Bonide Crabgrass and Broadleaf Weed Killer are selective herbicides. As the name applies, it only kills Crabgrass and other broadleaf weeds. It is most appropriately used in the lawn area. Monterey Sucker Stopper is a product that specifically targets the suckers that can grow near the base of crab trees and pear trees. It only kills the small suckers, not the tree itself. There are also what would be termed homemade recipes of herbicides. Many homeowners have told me about using a mixture of vinegar and salt to kill weeds. I donât have any personal experience with this, so I am hesitant to recommend this mixture. Whatever you use, it is imperative to read the directions thoroughly and as the saying goes, âApply as directed.â Many, many times, I have visited with homeowners who are upset with their spouse because he or she killed the others plants due to incorrect application of chemicals.
Although weeds often grown through mulch, it does help to suppress some weed growth. Having at least 1â of mulch around perennial flowers and 2â of mulch around shrub and tree plantings will not only help to suppress mulch but also retain moisture into the soil. We have been lucky this year, that we havenât had to supplement water our plants very much, however the ground is dry and many plants would benefit from extra watering.
Yesterday, I attended a landscaping industry event designed to show landscapers the newest varieties of plants. It also showcased trends in our industry. I was dumbfounded to see that corn plants are now being grown and sold commercially in 1 gallon containers. The plant that is grown in literally thousands and thousands of acres around us is now being sold for us to use as a decorative accent in our fall planters.
I guess I wasnât so far off to be proud of the fact that it was growing in my car.
Kathleen Carr is the owner of The Growing Scene, Inc., a garden center and landscaping company. She can be reached by calling 815-923-7322 or tgsinc12@msn.com Have a gardening question? Please contact her. She will address it in an upcoming column.
