I recently learned from my students that oxalis, an invasive and aggressive weed for many San Francisco gardeners, is also called sourgrass, whose flower stalk can actually be chewed. Although oxalis has another beneficial function, that is, to prevent soil erosion on slopes, I can’t help but feel that every time I’m up at one of my schools, it’s a renewed battle between oxalis and gardener.
Last week, I issued a challenge to my students at Ida B. Wells to pull out as much oxalis as they could from our two main beds, which would be documented as before and after pictures on this blog. Although some students went right to work, others required much more coaxing. Many students seem to have an inherent dislike of weeding, even if it’s just the patch in front of them. At the end of class and after three huge piles of oxalis, it still looked like we barely made a dent in the ratio of oxalis to vegetables. Note to self – next time, to prevent oxalis takeovers, mulch early before the rains start.
After weeding (one student’s work)…
Mulching with straw with my afterschool class
Weeding can be a chore, but just think it as the lessor of two evils, if you can call a weed evil. Wouldn’t you rather have tall, beautiful and healthy vegetables or tall weeds.
I have chickens and right after the rains, I pull up a bunch of weeds for them. They love the weeds and the bugs and the worms that get pulled up along with the roots.
Some of the vegetables in my garden are broccoli, green onions and mitsuba, I eat them straight from the plant in my garden, they are very tasty. Could be the hearty chicken waste that I use as my fertilizer….or I just feel good about eating what I have grown and knowing that there are no pesticides or herbicides on them. I use organic seeds, so I am comforted in the knowledge knowing that what I am eating from my garden is natural – the way nature intended it to be (almost – over the centuries, most plants have been hybridized).
Good luck, and keep up the good work. Your garden looks great