in defense of a little weed...

I’d like to coment on this topic with a quote from Malcom Beck’s Lessons in Nature – I couldn’t say it more clearly: “Have you ever wondered why weeds seem to grow everywhere? Or have you ever thought of how desolate and bare the earth would be if the only plants growing were those we planted? Weeds are here for a purpose and they have a job to do. They are here to ensure that the soil of our planet always has the protection of a green blanket, and little does man realize the importance of this cover. Our fertile soil, man’s greatest natural resource, would erode away without the protection of plant cover. If it weren’t for weeds, mostly unwanted weeds, the topsoil of many farms would have eroded away years ago, gone from our farms forever, gone to muddy the rivers and fill our lakes and eventually end up in the ocean. Weeds are said to rob our crops of moisture, sunlight and nutrients, but they shouldn’t be unjustly accused. The weeds don’t rob, they only borrow, as eventually it all returns to the soil for future crop use. Some weeds are pioneer plants, able to grow in soil unsuited for edible or domesticated plants. As the pioneer plants grow and decay, the soil is improved. Nature gave these plants a means of protection, such as a bitter taste, thorns, or even made them poisonous so they wouldn’t be eaten by animals. This is so they could continue the soil-making and building processes until finally good soil is made. Then the edible plants can move in and take over. The successive growth and decay of weeds lays down an absorbent mat on the soil which prevents erosion from rain runoff and wind. The absorbent mat of growing, decaying weeds traps the rain water and causes it to soak into the soil for future needs. The water soaking into the soil keeps the springs flowing, which feed our rivers, keeping them crystal clear and running at an even rate instead of flooding after each rain. This insoak also feeds the wells from which many people get their water supply. Because the growing weeds take up and store soluble plant food in their tissues, the wasteful leaching of phosphate, nitrate and other minerals is prevented. This helps prevent the pollution of our water with an excess of these nutrients.Weeds are a vital link the soil fertility and food chain. Farmers should realize the value of weeds towards soil building and conservation and take full advantage of them.” All too often the focus on invasive plant management is an excuse for the continued and widespread use of herbicides. I am certain the invasive plants movement is financed in part by the chemical companies. We are like spoiled children wanting to impose our will on those around us. We intentionally import exotic plants and then blame them for escaping confinement. We carelessly import the seeds of “lesser” plants that are not worth our attention until they interfere with our image of how Nature should be. We ravage the natural environment and then curse the plants that heal it because they are not immediately useful to us. So we slash and burn and poison them, bury them and drown them, and still Nature persists. Isn’t it about time we learned to do things differently? One thing we learn in martial arts is to walk in peace in harmony--that we prevent war by being prepared, we try to encourage peace, avoid bad situations, educate. Seems like a few other things in this world could use that perspective