Guerrilla Weeding

Aug 12, 2010

By Dale Odorizzi, Lanark County Master Gardeners

It has happened to all of us—maybe we have been away on vacation or working too hard or the weather has been too hot or we have forgotten about a distant garden but all of a sudden, we cannot see our beautiful flowers for the weeds. When that happens, we feel like taking out the weed wacked and cutting everything down or simply ignore the garden for the rest of the summer. Instead of doing that, consider spending some time “guerrilla weeding”.

The first step in this process is to weed thoroughly for the area 1-2 feet from the edge of the garden. This is the area that people can see when they come to visit your garden. When that is done, pull out or cut off any weeds that stand higher than the “good” flowers that you wish to show case. Stand back and see what weeds you can notice and cut them off. The important thing is to try to keep the weeds from going to seed. One weed can generate thousands of seeds and most importantly, we want to keep the weeds from growing next year.

If you still have time and energy after this weeding, dead head (cut off flowers that are past their prime) your plants to keep them looking good. Some perennials do not look good after they bloom so cut them back and let their new leaves grow.

Finally, again if you have time, “edge” around the garden. To do this, get a sharp shovel or half-moon edger and cut a nice crisp edge around your newly weeded bed. A crisp edge around your garden, sets it off from the lawn, much like a picture frame sets a painting off from your wall.

Now that you have completed your Guerrilla weeding, sit back and admire your work. If even this amount of work is too much, remember that many weeds are very attractive to the bees and butterflies and you are doing your best to provide a habitat for pollinators!

All your gardening questions can be submitted and answered on our website at www.lanarkmastergardeners.mgoi.ca