Most treatises on weeds solely concentrate on the eradication of, or the opposite, useful ways to make medicines, eat or feed weeds to livestock. All are these facts are good to know, but weeds can teach us more. Why do weeds grow where they do? Usually a shrug of the shoulders, and a "weeds happen" look accompany that question.
An examination of weeds growing on our farmsteads, and in our yards will tell us what is going on below, in the soil. As gardeners and farmers we need to know about the terra firma beneath our feet and hoe.
If you are new to your land, or are just thinking of starting a garden from scratch, weed identification can be very helpful. Weeds like certain soil conditions, and can survive the worst environment. I took a walk today in some of our high impact areas and snapped some pictures of places and the weeds that grow there. If you see these weeds, don't locate your garden there without the expectation of a lot of work. Problem weeds can persist for decades in high impact areas. I will stick with common names, and common weeds, and even though some of my impact areas are caused by livestock, people can tread hard on the land too. Native Americans called Broadleaf Plantain, White Man's Footstep.
Location: Barnyard, wet soil, high animal impact during wet weather. Not much grows here during the summer except Broadleaf plantain, dock and sorrel. I doubt this spot would ever make a good garden spot unless you built raised beds and brought in soil and amendments.
To get rid of quack, plant annual cereal rye and summer fallow. The rye breaks up the hardpan and has allelopathic properties that have a lasting effect on the quack grass.
Most of these weeds don't bother us too much, in our sacrifice areas near the barns there is no need to do anything for soil improvement, since we are not changing the use of these areas. The weeds are the earths way of protecting the soil. Irritating as they may be, they are just doing their job. It is our job to observe and learn from them and make changes if necessary.
What weeds, if any, are the bane of your life?