All About Weeds

Weeds are a symptom, not the cause, of a problem. We can observe weeds to read the landscape, deduce what reparative steps need to be taken, and speed up the natural sequence of recovery. Weeds can actually be great friends to gardeners.

In any square meter of ground, there can be thousands of seeds waiting to germinate, but the condition of the ground determines what grows. For example, compacted ground will spur decompacting weeds to grow, and nature, in no hurry, waits for the process of decompaction to occur. On the other hand, when the soil is too loose, the weeds will have soil stabilizing characteristics, such as hairnet root systems. Once the soil has stabilized, it’ll go on to the next cycle plants.

Weeds also indicate soil minerals. The bracken fern, common after fires, are known for harvesting potassium, most of which burns off in fires. The plants after fires are those which can harvest potassium when it’s in low supply. The ferns can be cut and mulched to the ground to reduce the number of ferns growing. However, if they are burned, the ground is only further depleted of potassium, so more ferns will come back.

A classic function of weeds throughout the world is to restore fertility in the landscape, replenishing nitrogen, and this is done largely by the peas and beans families. This goes all the way into legume trees. These plants have special relationships with bacteria in the soil that trade nitrogen deposits for starch. This is a great way to fertilize the ground. It’s how nature does it, and we can use the same technique by partnering with nitrogen-fixing plants.

In crop gardens, we sometimes get into a spatial race with weeds, and the solution is to replace the weeds with “designed weeds” to take up the space. This can be done with green manure mulches to fertilize the gardens and supply quality mulch. This is an example of how understanding the inner workings of weeds allows us to harmonize with natural systems to both repair the earth and create production for ourselves.

Key Takeaways:

• Weeds are a symptom of a problem, not the cause, so we can use weeds to read the landscape.
• Thousands of seeds are in the ground waiting to germinate, and the ground conditions will determine which ones do.
• Compacted soils will encourage decompacting weeds, such as dandelions, to grow; loose soils will encourage stabilizing weeds with hairnet roots to grow.
• Areas that have been burned will encourage potassium-harvesting plants, like bracken ferns, to grow in order the recover the landscape.
• Weeds, especially leguminous plants, are often restoring the fertility of the land be replenishing nitrogen in the soil.
• We can use our knowledge of weeds to select “designed weeds” to take up the space that volunteer weeds would normally try to occupy, thus harmonizing with nature.

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[tepeassydac]

'Design your own weed system. Beat 'em at their own game.' I love it!

[caramarie]

It's amazing how much knowledge I have accumulated from Geoff since the three days in a row, in which I did not sleep, because I was too interested in the videos of an free online training course about permaculture. (Not kidding, I did not sleep until I got done.) That was a lot of videos. I did use much of the information for turning my yard into a food forest. Been a fan since then.

[Musalia]

I'm getting life advice from weeds because of this man. I need to live my purpose and be gone with myself.

[sajanah]

This could be a documentary on it's own!

[cognito]

In France we call them "mauvaises herbes" which translates to "bad herbs".... terrible isn't it?
But thanks to permaculture we now call them "advantices" (or "early herbs"). Words are important.
Our understanding is changing, slowly but surely.
Great video!
"Merci" for sharing :)

[christophermarquez]

Wow! I’m so inspired by Geoff. Truly changing the world and not alot of people know this is the next silent revolution.

[richardb]

Nature is a canvas. Elements can be replaced, but no blank canvas.

[patriciamcdonald]

The wisdom that you have found from the earth is worth its weight in gold. Thanks for your sharing.

[Listenclearly]

So that's why there is so much bracken in the fire prone hills where I live in Australia...I really like this episode🙂

[razz]

Very few people in the world have such an amazing level of understanding of how nature works. I wish more people thought the same way as you do !!

[BlueGardenCottage]

Love weeds! Over the past few years they have become food (some of them), medicine, teas, food for our insect friends and birds...and the dandelions entertainment for my granddaughter. :D Now I know how they are indicators too. Plant superheros. Thank you.

[dottiannblakemore]

Wow! I am asking all my gardening friends to watch this video. One of the very best that explains the nature of Weeds. I love Geoff Lawton. Thank You so much for sharing your knowledge. -Pile O' Rocks Ranch, Sun Valley, AZ -Auburn, WA

[shabnamnikkhoo]

This is not just amazing, but beautiful!! How alive nature is, is beautiful!

[novembertomay]

Very informative and educational. Thanks so much for sharing.

[abundancejourney]

I've stumbled into the world of permaculture as a 20 year old with no experience in gardening. I've become addicted to your videos, weeks ago I was watching cartoons and other fun rubbish but now I can't keep my eyes off your channel. Really amazing and transformational, I'd LOVE to learn the earth in the same way you have.

Bless

[mjfalcon]

A friend recently told me about Geoff and how he has inspired them. I have to say I became an instant subscriber and binge watcher of this channel. Absolutely amazing and inspiring content. Thank you Geoff I will look into paying for your master class to learn even more.

[MonikaMundell]

I love listening to Geoff and learning about stewarding the land. ❤

[miloudbouchefra]

Geoff, you are a living legend, more videos please.

[diego]

These videos are the most beautiful things I have ever seen in my life.

[NickMusselle]

Wow, agreed, this is a fantastic documentary on its own, i'm 56 but I have a lot to learn. thank you