Reading Weeds as Soil Indicators: What Nature Is Trying to Tell You

For many gardeners, the appearance of weeds is the signal to reach for a hoe, pull them by hand, or spread another layer of mulch. While there is certainly a time for weed control, weeds can also serve another purpose. They are among the best soil inspectors you will ever have—and they work for free.

Long before soil laboratories and digital moisture meters, observant farmers learned to "read" the landscape. Certain weeds consistently appeared where particular soil conditions existed. While no weed provides an infallible diagnosis, a careful gardener can often learn a great deal about the health, fertility, drainage, and even the pH of the soil simply by observing what chooses to grow there.

Organic gardening is, above all, the art of observation. Instead of asking, "How do I kill this weed?" try asking, "Why is this weed growing here?"

Nature Rarely Leaves Bare Soil

Bare ground is an invitation. Wherever sunlight reaches exposed soil, nature sends pioneers to protect it. Weeds are often the first responders.

Their roots loosen compacted earth, hold soil against erosion, gather nutrients, and provide food for insects and microorganisms. While they may compete with our vegetables and flowers, they are also performing ecological work.

Rather than viewing weeds solely as enemies, think of them as indicators. They often reveal problems before our cultivated plants begin to suffer.

Plantain: The Compaction Specialist

Broadleaf plantain (Plantago major) frequently appears where soil has been compacted by foot traffic, machinery, or years of cultivation.

Its broad leaves hug the ground, and its tough taproot is remarkably good at penetrating dense soil.

If plantain thrives in your garden, consider asking:

• Has this area been walked on frequently?
• Does water puddle after rain?
• Would gentle loosening with a garden fork improve soil structure?
• Could additional organic matter help?

Removing the plant without addressing the compaction often results in another plantain taking its place.

Chickweed: A Sign of Rich, Moist Soil

Many gardeners regard it as a nuisance, yet its presence often suggests that the soil itself is in reasonably good condition.

Chickweed can indicate:

• abundant organic matter
• steady soil moisture
• cool conditions
• moderate fertility

Ironically, gardeners spend years improving poor soil only to discover that chickweed appreciates those improvements just as much as their lettuce does.

Purslane: Dry Soil with Good Fertility

Purslane (Portulaca oleracea) is a remarkable survivor.

Its succulent leaves store water, allowing it to flourish during hot summers when many weeds disappear.

Heavy populations may suggest:

• warm soil
• excellent sunlight
• periods of drought
• reasonably fertile ground

Interestingly, purslane is also edible and rich in omega-3 fatty acids. Many gardeners unknowingly pull one of the most nutritious wild greens from their gardens.

Horsetail: Poor Drainage and Acidic Conditions

If horsetail (Equisetum arvense) appears, pay attention.

This ancient plant has survived since before the dinosaurs and often points toward challenging soil conditions.

It commonly indicates:

• poor drainage
• compacted subsoil
• persistently wet ground
• acidic soil

Because horsetail spreads through extensive underground rhizomes, simply pulling it rarely solves the problem. Improving drainage often proves far more effective over time.

Dock: Deep Soil Miner

Dock species (Rumex spp.) produce impressive taproots capable of reaching nutrients far below the surface.

Their presence may suggest:

• compacted lower soil layers
• mineral imbalances
• neglected ground
• disturbed areas

The deep roots often bring nutrients upward, where they become available to other organisms after the leaves decompose.

Shepherd's Purse: Frequently Disturbed Soil

Shepherd's purse (Capsella bursa-pastoris) often thrives where soil is repeatedly disturbed.

Its appearance can indicate:

• freshly cultivated ground
• open soil
• winter annual weed cycles
• mild fertility

Because it completes its life cycle quickly, it often arrives before slower-growing plants become established.

Learn to Read Patterns, Not Individual Plants

One weed seldom tells the whole story.

A single plant may simply have arrived by chance. However, when large populations dominate a particular area year after year, they often reveal an underlying condition.

For example:

• Plantain and dandelions together may point toward compaction.
• Chickweed and nettles often suggest fertile, nitrogen-rich soil.
• Moss with horsetail frequently indicates excessive moisture.
• Purslane mixed with crabgrass may reveal hot, dry conditions.

The larger the pattern, the more reliable the diagnosis becomes.

Weeds Are Symptoms, Not Causes

One of the most valuable lessons in organic gardening is recognizing the difference between symptoms and causes.

Suppose your vegetable bed is full of plantain.

The temptation is to remove the weeds and declare victory.

But if the underlying problem is compacted soil, another generation of plantain—or a different weed adapted to the same conditions—will soon replace it.

Organic gardeners achieve longer-lasting success by correcting the conditions that favor troublesome weeds rather than merely eliminating the plants themselves.

Keep a Weed Journal

One surprisingly useful habit is to keep a notebook devoted to weeds.

Each season, record:

• which weeds appeared
• where they appeared
• rainfall
• mulching practices
• compost applications
• crop rotations
• drainage changes

After several years, patterns emerge that would otherwise go unnoticed.

You may discover that a certain weed only appears after unusually wet winters, or that another vanishes after several seasons of heavy mulching.

These observations become part of your growing knowledge of your own garden—knowledge no general gardening book can fully provide.

Let the Weeds Teach You

The goal of organic gardening is not to grow a garden without weeds. Such a thing has rarely existed.

Rather, it is to understand why weeds appear, manage them wisely, and gradually create conditions that favor the crops you wish to grow instead.

The next time you kneel to pull a weed, pause for a moment before tossing it into the compost pile. Consider what it may be telling you about the soil beneath your feet.

Nature is always speaking. The experienced gardener learns not only to cultivate the soil, but also to listen to it.

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FAQ: How can I get rid of Poa annua in my lawn?

 

Poa annua - Credit Rasbak, CC BY-SA 3.0

Poa annua is also known as annual bluegrass. It can be a real pest. Though it is an annual, it re-seeds prolifically and returns to your lawn year after year.

There is no really effective chemical treatment that I know of for killing Poa annua in the lawn. Focus on preventing seed germination. Apply weed pre-emergent in spring and fall. Follow label instructions. Don’t use a chemical that is incompatible with your lawn grass species. The seeds are very tough and persistent, so it might take a few years to get it under control. 

Try to eliminate Poa in non-lawn areas, where possible, with glyphosate application. Also beware of importing seeds into the area on lawnmowers that have been used elsewhere. 

I hope this helps.

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Number One Rule For Vegetable Gardening - Make It Easy On Yourself

Make it easy on yourself. 

That’s the number one rule in my book of gardening notes to self. When garden work becomes more of a chore than a pleasure, you’ll regret that you started. When the hardship is greater than the reward, you’ll likely become disheartened and walk away. Disappointment and a twinge of guilt might haunt you. To avoid those outcomes, I’ve a few suggestions.

Choose the right site.

The wrong location will doom you, either to failure or to extra labor. Keep in mind that:

• The location should be convenient;
• Vegetable gardens require plenty of sun – 6 to 8 hours per day;
• Native soil should be well-drained, deep, fertile, free from rocks and other obstructions;
• A reliable source of water should be nearby.

Any of those conditions may not be perfect in your case. They can be mitigated somewhat, but that takes work. Do the best you can.

Plot the right size.

The plot size can be determined:

• By your surroundings; 
• By your available time and interest;
• By your age or energy level;
• By your goals.

If you live in an apartment, your garden might be limited to a few planters on your balcony, unless you have access to a community garden area.

Early enthusiasm for your project can easily exceed available time, and succumb to waning interest, the constraints of age and energy. Studying seed catalogs in January is a lot like shopping Sears Wishbook before Christmas; you gotta have it all. Your plot size shouldn’t exceed your personal resources. Get real!

For most of us, the goal is pleasure, a large measure of satisfaction, and some tasty food for the table. A small garden will usually suffice, and should be manageable.

If your goal is self-sufficiency, you have a long row to hoe, so to speak. That’s a subject best left for another time.

Select the right plants.

The right plants should:

• Be easy to grow;
• Require NO fungicides, and pesticides (IMO);
• Appeal to your taste.

It might take a little research to determine what will be easy to grow in your area. You’ll need to know:

• Your climate zone;
• Your atmospheric conditions;
• Your neighbors’ successes and failures.

Climate zone is important. For example, if winters are cold and summers are short, you’ll need cold-hardy plants, and summer crops that only require short growing seasons. Check out the USDA Interactive Climate Zone map.

Atmospheric conditions can include such factors as rain, drought and humidity.  There's not much you can do about them. Plant diseases and crop failure are very often caused by such. Plant selections must accommodate them.

There’s no substitute for visiting with your gardening neighbors. Those who’ve lived in the area for long should be able to give you an earful, or you can just peer over their fences to see what’s looking good.

My advice is to plant what you know will be easy to grow. In south Georgia that would be okra, Jerusalem artichokes (sunchokes), Seminole pumpkins, purple hull peas and corn. (For real success, study your area for edible weeds.) But if you’re filled with inexhaustible hope in the face of disappointment, grow whatever you want.

There’s no accounting for taste. You and your family will like certain vegetables, or you won’t. For example, my family doesn’t care much for okra, though I disagree. My wife thinks Jerusalem artichokes are weeds, though I disagree. Don’t bother planting crops that few will eat.

Before you begin planning your vegetable garden, remember my number one rule; make it easy on yourself.

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Current Data Shows Glyphosate Is Not Linked to Cancer

According to Jason Ferrell, director of the Pesticide Information Office with the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS),  "Currently, the data we have does not seem to indicate that glyphosate causes cancer. So we still believe that it can be used as an effective part of an integrated pest management strategy and plan.”

Glyphosate is the active ingredient in Roundup®, one of the world's most popular herbicides. However, since 2015 when the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) reclassified glyphosate, the active ingredient in Roundup®, as a probable carcinogen, public concerns have intensified. Many other agencies around the world began studying its safety.

So far, “All of the other world agencies — and there have been several — have not classified it as a probable carcinogen and they don’t believe there is a clear link between glyphosate and cancer with the current data that we have," says Ferrell.

The bottom line, then, is that the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) is the only world agency that classifies glyphosate as a probable carcinogen, in stark contrast to the study results from all the others.

Read more.

A question about using landscape fabric.

Q. My lawn maintenance man wants to put down landscape fabric to stop weeds from coming up around my shrubs. Do you think that’s a good idea?

A. I’m not a big fan of landscape fabrics and similar weed barriers, for the following reasons:

• They might prevent weeds from germinating beneath them, but permeable ones don’t prevent seeds from germinating on top and growing down through them; 
• Weed barriers on slopes might not let water perk down through them fast enough, instead letting the water drain where it shouldn’t; 
• Edges of weed barriers can become exposed and tangle in lawnmower blades. 

I much prefer applying plenty of organic mulch.

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A large oak tree has to go.

Large oak tree - Photo by FOX from Pexels

Q. "There is a large oak tree growing in our yard. ...We want to add a room to our house. IMO the tree has to go. But my wife loves the tree."

A. This reminds me of a few discussions I had with a customer a long time ago. For the sake of anonymity, I'll call him Pete. Pete, a lawyer, spent his professional career in a large city. He hired me to maintain his retirement property.

Pete had several undesirable trees around his estate, mostly misshapen black cherries (Prunus serotina) and water oaks (Quercus nigra) in various stages of decline. Those not decrepit were growing in the wrong places. But Pete insisted they were "magnificent." "Magnificent weeds," I replied. But he wouldn't allow me to remove them.

Perhaps Pete suffered from what I call the Kilmer Complex (after Joyce Kilmer). These folks think they "shall never see a poem lovely as a tree." Trees are bigger than themselves, and perhaps older, so are impressive even if diseased or growing in inconvenient places. They have no problem, however, destroying smaller undesirables. It's a matter of perspective, and an odd one at that.

What is a weed but an undesirable plant, or a plant growing in an undesirable place? It doesn't matter, really, how great or small. If it can't be transplanted elsewhere, get rid of it.

I wrote all that to say I understand your predicament. Try reasoning gently with her using my argument. If she remains rooted in her opinion, there's not much you can do about it. I guess it depends on whether she wants the additional room more than the tree, or whether you desire her more than the additional room.

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Trees Can Be Weeds.

Q. I want a nice lawn, but it's hard to grow grass in my back yard. The landscape service manager says there is too much shade and I should let him cut down some trees. He says some aren't worth keeping, but I love my trees. What do you think?

A. Apparently, if you want a turf grass lawn, you're going to have to remove some trees. Your case reminds me of a friend who retired from his law practice in Paris, France to rural southeast Georgia. He thought Paris had too few trees. His new home landscape was full of trees, mostly longleaf pines (Pinus palustris), water oaks (Quercus nigra) and black cherries (Prunus serotina). Many of the oaks and cherries were diseased and malformed. I tried in vain to convince him that some of those oaks and cherries were weeds regardless of size and age, and they needed to go. "They're magnificent," he exclaimed.

I'd like to convince you, too. According to Merriam-Webster.com, a weed is "a plant that is not valued where it is growing and is usually of vigorous growth; especially: one that tends to overgrow or choke out more desirable plants." Size and age doesn't matter. Perhaps you should consider removing your big weed trees. If in doubt, get a couple of opinions from experts who can personally examine your situation.

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