Mindful Weeding- Learning From My Mistakes

I knew i shouldn't do it but i did it anyway. Back in February we had several weeks of unseasonably warm weather and i wanted to get some seeds planted before i left town for a week to visit my mom. Rain was in the forecast the day before i needed to leave. I tilled in the rye grass cover crop in the morning and left the turned up plants to dry in the sun. I knew that there were rye plants buried just below the surface and i knew that the rain would encourage them to re-root. I was in a hurry to get the seeds in the ground so i raked out the bed as best i could the following day and planted Tokyo Bekana and turnip seeds.

Sure enough when i returned from my trip the seeds had germinated and the rye was starting to come back. It was not until a couple days ago that i made time to do something about it. I spent 2 hours pulling the rye grass out of the bed. I am very particular about how i pull weeds. Some people mindlessly yank at them, paying scant attention to what they are doing. I want be sure i get the whole root out of the ground because i do not want to go back later and do it again. I can tell by the sound if someone is pulling weeds correctly. If you are just tearing the tops off it makes a popping sound. If you are doing it correctly the sound is more like an extended rrriiipppping sound as the roots come loose from the soil.

What I Learned by Practicing Mindful Weeding

During those 2 hours i spent on hands and knees in intimate contact with the soil food web i learned several things by being in the moment and observing what was going on before my eyes.

• The seedlings that looked good walking by, on close examination are showing signs of a magnesium deficiency. They have a slight interveinal chlorosis with some small necrotic (dead) spots on the leaves. I will drench them with a solution of epsom salts ( magnesium sulfate) mixed with fish fertilizer to correct the deficiency.
• The earthworms are thriving!. Every time i pulled up a clump of rye there were happy worms wiggling around.
• The clover i left to grow in the paths are heavily colonized by the nitrogen fixing rhizobium bacteria sharing it with the surrounding plants.
• Baptisia australis can be propagated by root cuttings. I dug some out of the beds and moved them to another location in the fall. New plants are emerging where pieces of root were left in the ground.
• Morning glory and potato vine (a cousin) are becoming an increasing problem in this part of the garden. I need to stay on top of it to keep it from going to seed this year.

A key permaculture principle is to observe and interact. In doing so we can learn much about our gardens and about ourselves.

Practice Mindful Weeding y'all.

NO-TILL FOR REAL

Last fall we planted a cover crop of winter rye and red clover (inoculated with rhizobium bacteria for nitrogen fixation) in the lower field. We wanted to try out organic no-till to build organic content in the soil and suppress weeds while avoiding disturbing the soil food web as a result of tillage. We got a good stand through the winter. The winter before we had a large crop of winter weeds in that field, chickweed and henbit primarily. The cover crop totally suppressed the winter weeds. Great!
The technique is to cut the cover crop when it is flowering. Because they are annuals, if cut at the right time, they will not have enough reserves in their roots to re-grow during the flowering stage so they will die off. We don't want them to go to seed so we don't have new plants germinating which will compete with our crop. The cut foliage is left on the beds and paths to act as a mulch suppressing summer weeds and retaining moisture in the soil. Since there is no tilling, weed seeds are not brought to the surface to germinate. The roots are broken down by the organisms in the soil food web to provide nutrients for the crop.
We will wait a couple of weeks to see if we cut at the right time to avoid re-growth. If not the worst that can happen is that we'll have to cut it again. We hope to plant corn and beans through the mulch really soon.
It looks like this could work!