I was just thinking about spring, but then I realized I should just live in the moment and be thankful that I do not have to battle so many weeds time of the year! Spring and cool season weeds will be here soon enough. In fact, it seems like some of them never even disappeared from last fall despite the deep freeze! The most common cool-season annual and perennial weeds are beginning to germinate and grow as our soils warm a bit, it is amazing how quickly it can happen as our days get longer and the sun shines more frequently.
Weeds are only problematic because we somehow deemed them so; I now see every forage and blade of grass as food for sheep and, as such, the last thing I would want is a chemical combatant in the picture. I have largely embraced a mixed forage in lawn and pasture and just try to keep perennial beds and paths looking less weedy. One way to do this is to actively use pre-emergent herbicides formulated from corn gluten so you can avoid using synthetic chemicals in your environment. And maybe some meditation on the usefulness of all plant species.
The first line of defense is old-fashioned: you can control weeds if you just bend over and pull them up; or walk around the garden with a cultivator in hand, scratching up a patch here and there; or use a conventional herbicide to easily knock them out while they are still young and tender. But really, the point is that weeds are easier to control if you clean them up as soon as you see them. And use mulch where it is applicable.
Chickweed is usually found in moist, shady spots. It is almost rubbery in texture when you pull it. Be especially careful if chickweed has already flowered and gone to seed because when you touch it the seed releases like popcorn. Control chickweed during active growth by pulling or using an herbicide. In problem spots follow up with a pre-emergent in the fall to prevent seed germination once cool weather returns. Seeds germinate from late fall to early spring so another application of a pre-emergent in the early spring is a good idea if you struggle with chickweed.
Wild violets can quickly become a hard to manage perennial problem despite their sweet heart-shaped foliage and pansy-like flowers. The sinister thing about violets is that they almost spontaneously fling their seed far and wide while sending their roots in all directions! The dense, fibrous roots are steadfast and break away from the plant if you try to pull them by hand. Instead use a trowel (after a good rain) to lift them out of cultivated areas. If you can’t dig them as soon as you see them, pinch off the flowers so they won’t go to seed. I have a healthy spread of violets in one of the perennial beds and it actually acts as a really nice living and flowering ground cover that chokes out other weeds- I have decided that I like it.
Like the violet, you want to dig wild onion and wild garlic up as soon as you see them. Both are hard to control because they spread by seed and by bulbs underground. There are some chemical controls that claim to kill wild onion and garlic, but the problem is that liquid controls do not stick and are not absorbed well by the waxy foliage. Dig deep to remove them from cultivated areas. In the lawn, persistent spot treatment for several years will be necessary as the bulbs sprout at different times as they mature.
Ground ivy, or creeping Charlie, is a perennial that reproduces by seed and underground stems. These stems, and the areas that ground ivy grows, are what makes this weed hard to control. Total kill herbicides and broadleaf controls are usually out of the question because the ivy grows among desirable plants. Pulling the weed is tricky because the stem anchors itself along the ground with roots. These will re-grow if any are left behind. I have successfully reduced a problem area where ground ivy was taking over by carefully pulling up the stems after rainfalls. Just be persistent with careful hand pulling, especially in the spring and fall because it is a cool season perennial and most actively grows at this time.