Velvetleaf (Abutilon theophrasti)

Velvetleaf (Abutilon theophrasti)August 25, 2010
As a gardener my style is not to get too bent out of shape with respect to weeds.  Some weeds act as companion plants in a garden while others are edible.  I only get concerned if the weeds present the potential to choke out the fruits or vegetables.  My preferred way of dealing with weeds is pulling.

Earlier this year I noticed a suspected weed

Weeds, Weeds and More Weeds

The combination of copious amounts of rain daily with high temperatures and humidity have spurred a surge of weeds in the raised garden beds.  I seriously don't mind weeds in my gardens because some of them are edible and others act as companion plants to protect the fruits and vegetables.  However at this point I have no choice but to weed especially when the weeds start overshadowing the

Queen Anne's Lace

Queen Anne's LaceJuly 14, 2010
Queen Anne's Lace aka wild carrot is a fairly common weed here.  The plant was introduced from Europe.  It is a biennial that blooms from May through October.  Some consider Queen Anne's Lace invasive as it can crowd out native plants but most find this pretty weed easy to control.  The tap root which is a carrot is edible although the leaves are toxic and can cause

Poison Sumac

One of our kids reacts quite violently to poison ivy to the point of needing emergency medical attention from exposure on several occasions.  Most of the contact has come from when we were camping but the other day a large poison ivy plant was discovered in their backyard so called me for advice.  That jogged my memory to take another look around the yards to be sure there was no poison ivy. 

I

Weed Control Revisited

I know snow is still on the ground in our area and what a gorgeous sight to behold but soon our attention will be turning to our gardens. This year is going to present a new challenge for us in that we will be doing our gardening in two very different zones. Regardless of what zone you garden in, weeds are an issue. There are a couple of ways to go about dealing with weeds organically.edible

Pigweed

PigweedMost gardeners will come across pigweed (white arrow) fairly early in their gardening efforts. Pigweed gets its name because the weeds are widely used as pig fodder. In southern Ontario there are three main varieties of pigweed - red, green and smooth. They are all quite similar in appearance until they bloom. Redroot pigweed (Amaranthus retroflexus L.) is the most common pigweed in

Weeding the Beds

Last weekend was an extremely busy one following a rather cool, rainy week. This gave me little chance to get out into the garden. It's never a good idea to work in the garden when the foliage is wet as this will cause any existing plant disease to spread rapidly. Yet checking the gardens daily is important to catch any potential problems before they become problems. Saturday morning I

Weed Control

DandelionMay 29, 2009If you haven't seen a dandelion in your yard then you either don't have a yard or your yard is chemically treated. The Ontario Pesticide Ban is now in effect so some consumers are now concerned they will not be able to control weeds in the yards. Round-up® a chemical herbicide that some relied on heavily can now only be used to control poison ivy and you have to sign a

Bindweed

Bindweed(Convolvulus arvensis)Bindweed (Convolvulus arvensis) is a member of the morning glory family. It is a very invasive, spreading weed that can be introduced to the garden through soil and roots. Quite frankly I think bindweed is rather pretty with its small trumpet shaped white flowers with faint pink stripes. It covers wires and chain link fencing nicely but it is still considered a