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Weeds occupy every gardener’s mind: If we’re not weeding the garden, we’re worrying about them. Have you ever wondered why weeds exist? Once you know this secret of the permaculture garden, you can harness the power of weeds in your garden.

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Pioneers of the Disturbed Frontier

Most plants that we call weeds are generally known as pioneers of ecological succession. Succession is the process of transitioning from disturbed land to a mature ecosystem, such as old growth forest. Pioneer species show up when a site has been disturbed due to a human activity like logging or gardening, for example, or after a natural disturbance such as fire.

After a disturbance, it’s a little like the Wild West: Species compete for the right to colonize a disturbed area. They put all of their might into establishing themselves as a dominant species of the disturbed frontier. Interestingly, pioneers are relatively short-lived. I guess all of that competing wears them out.

All the energy that the short-lived pioneer species puts into establishing roots in a disturbed area is actually jumpstarting ecological healing and succession.

In other words, pioneer weeds leave the world better than they found it. Poison ivy can be good, even if you decide to get rid of it.

Pioneer Species are the EMTs of the Natural World

Think of pioneer plants—weeds—as the EMTs (Emergency Medical Technicians) of the natural world. They colonize disturbed areas with two main goals: Stop the bleeding and resuscitate breathing.

Step 1: Stop the Bleeding

After disturbance, bare land bleeds topsoil and nutrients, which get swept away with the wind and rain.

Without nutrients, plant life will struggle to survive.

Without plant life to catch and hold water, moisture won’t be retained in the soil.

Without moisture in the soil, there will be little soil life.

Without plants, moisture, and soil life, disturbance will eventually lead to desertification.

Therefore, bleeding—i.e. wind and soil erosion—must be stopped, and is a primary defense system of the natural world.

photo by eren {sea+prairie} via Flickr

Quick-to-establish pioneer species come to the rescue and hold soil in place, like applying pressure to a wound. Many pioneer species—like Queen Anne’s Lace or dandelions—have deep taproots that hold soil in place and catch and hold water. This is why we often use deep-rooted prairie plants like echinacea or yarrow in rain gardens.

See:

The reserved moisture allows soil microorganisms to multiply and begin their invisible healing procedures underground.

Other pioneer species are shallow-rooted ground covers, which seek to cover the bare soil—the wound—like a Band-Aid and protect it from the elements while it heals.

Step 2: Resuscitate Breathing

In the natural world, the equivalent to resuscitation is pumping nutrients into the heart of the soil so it can begin to heal without the life support of the short-lived pioneers. Many pioneer species are nutrient accumulators, which means that they dredge up nutrients from deep in the soil and store them in their leaves.

The leaves, then, are medicinal. Both for the land, and usually for humans and animals as well. In wild areas, the medicinal plants will attract wild animals who will eat them and leave their droppings behind.

The droppings and the medicinal leaves (when they die back in the winter) feed the topsoil and over time create nutrient rich areas that can support non-pioneer species.

See: 7 Ways to Improve Soil Quality

What do weeds have to do with your garden?

If the presence of weeds (pioneer species) can indicate the state of a particular ecosystem like a recently clear-cut forest, then they can also instruct us on how healthy and mature our gardens are. If you have a lot of weeds, then it may be an indication that the soil isn’t protected enough and is bleeding nutrients.

When topsoil bakes in the sun, it sends the beneficial soil critters packing for cooler temps, and our veggie plants miss out on their contributions to healthy plants. So the first thing we want to do is to make sure our gardens are mulched.

See: Mulching in the Permaculture Garden

I prefer to have all of my garden beds protected by leaf mulch or organic straw, though I’m certainly not perfect. When I protect the soil with mulch, I take away the pioneers’ need to protect the soil (and the ability for weed seeds to make contact with the soil), so the weeds show up less often.

Would you like to learn more about using weeds to improve the biodiversity of your garden, reduce maintenance, and increase yield?

You’ll find loads of information just like this in my award-winning book, The Suburban Micro-Farm.

Use Weeds as Green Mulch

If the soil hasn’t been protected for a while, then it will need nutrients (fertilizer) to jumpstart its own self-healing properties. Pioneer “weeds” can help us fertilize for free!

Now, there are definitely some weeds that are a nuisance. Personally, I detest vining weeds and often discard them in the trash. But many weeds are important pioneers that are trying to help us heal our garden soil.

Rather than pulling green weeds up and sending them to the dump (losing those nutrients forever), or worse, spraying them with an herbicide, let’s use the weeds to our advantage: Cut them to the ground about once a month and lay their green leaves directly on the soil.

This way, the weeds are both protecting the soil (stopping the bleeding) and fertilizing (resuscitating with a nutrient boost). By cutting them back rather than pulling them up, we leave the soil undisturbed.

But, you say, you’re worried about the weeds growing back? In a natural garden, we actually invite them to come back again and again and supply us with free fertilizer. Nature seems to know what it needs.

photo by F.D. Richards via Flickr

Cutting the weeds back once a month will ensure that they don’t go to seed or shade out the vegetable plants. When an area has been sufficiently fertilized with a particular element that the weed provides, the weed will usually die back on its own.

When I cut back green weed matter, I tuck it under my leaf or straw mulch so that it can compost in place. This method is particularly favored by the soil life, increasing the rate at which my garden soil can heal.

If a garden area seems to be uncontrollably weedy, then I take it as an indication that it needs some time to heal. I will actually sow weed seeds as a cover crop and let my garden rest for a year. Crimson clover and dandelion are two excellent choices.

Now to be fair, garden soil for annual vegetables will never be as mature as forest soil. We will always see some weeds, even in healthy gardens. That’s because every time we harvest the vegetables, we disturb the soil and take the nutrients away the nutrients in the form of food. So it’s important to replenish them. Mulching with the weeds will help.

Are you curious about which weeds are the best garden friends? Here are 5 weeds you WANT to find in your garden!

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