In article ,
Steve wrote:

To warp this thread around to something half way serious, I have often
wondered if I am wasting my time pulling and hoeing the weed Purslane.
It only gets several inches tall and forms a dense carpet that would
probably exclude other taller weeds. If I keep letting it go to seed, I
think it would soon be the only surviving weed in the whole garden.
Maybe it wouldn't be good with some plants like carrots or spinach but I
can't think it would compete much with corn or cabbage.
This thought came to me when I was really tired of weeding last summer
and it's probably more an indication of laziness than it is a good idea.

Steve
PS don't tell me to eat the stuff. I know it's edible but it tastes bad
raw and I will not likely ever bother to try it cooked.

I don't weed much, except in the flowerbeds right in front of
my house. I like them to be neat.

Chickweed takes over the paths in my veg garden. I toss covers
over the veggies and let my hens eat the chickweed, then throw
the hens back out to range around the yard. (My veggies are
fenced with 8' tall fishnet, to keep the moose out.)

We have wild camomile growing all over the yard. It's a nice
groundcover. The hens like it. I harvest some to dry for winter
use. I harvest about 8 of the weeds that grow in my yard, for
winter use, for medicinal purposes. (Not stuff I've planted;
the stuff that grows naturally here.)

There are people who say that it's healthy to let weeds grow
in your yard. The weeds run tap roots down and bring minerals up
to the surface. When they die back in the winter, those minerals
get deposited.

I've heard that Native Americans aren't so fussy about weeds.
They know that weeds are okay. The Creator wouldn't have put
them in our gardens if they were all bad. (?)

Jan

--
Bedouin proverb: If you have no troubles, buy a goat.