eedhWeedy crops thrive

Observations from the farm--a few weedy neglected beds of Brassicas distract Japanese beetles from the main crop. Weeds are a major issue to deal with on a vegetable farm, especially in organic systems. They can rob nutrients and water, shade our crops, restrict air flow and otherwise damage crops. Controlling weeds can be one of the most labor intensive parts of vegetable farming. However, we are also finding that a completely weed free bed isn't necessarily ideal either. Weeds are not bad. Many Weeds are great at attracting pollinator and beneficial organisms, they can serve as a great cover crop, and, as in this video, they can even be a trap crop distracting pest from the mian crop. Even though I poke fun at natural farming or ecological farming in this video, that is what we are striving for. We approach our farming with the idea of working with nature and a part of nature rather than view our farming as a "constant struggle" against nature. Don't get us wrong, farming is a lot of work, and we do struggle with strong natural forces of weather, weeds, and pests. However, the more we can work within these powerful natural forces and use or take advantage of natural tendancies, the healthier our farm is and the more efficient we become. I am not sure if we will purposely allow weeds to grow in our crop beds but observations such as in this video make us a little less tense and stressed about a few weeds in our vegetable beds or a few neglected areas around the farm.