While most gardeners are quick to rid their garden of weeds, what many people don’t know is that some weeds can actually be beneficial to a garden! Therefore, rather than eliminating all of the weeds from your garden, learn to recognize those that will be helpful and use them to your advantage!

There are many different types of weeds that can provide numerous benefits to your garden. These benefits include the protection of topsoil, helping to pull up nutrients and water deep in the ground that other plants are unable to reach, luring harmful pests away from your crops and flowers and attracting beneficial insects to the area.

Protecting Topsoil:

Weeds such as spurges, purslane, lamb’s-quarters, chickweed and ragweed can be very helpful to have in a garden, as they will protect essential top soil from being washed or blown away.

Bringing Up Nutrients and Water:

Dandelions, prickly lettuce, spiny sow thistle, wild amaranths, cockleburs, nightshades and Queen Anne’s lace are examples of weeds that have very strong roots that go deep into the ground. Weeds with deep taproots can benefit a garden by breaking up hard soil and bring up nutrients from the areas that most plants are unable to reach. If the weeds are composted or turned into the soil, the nutrients that they have absorbed will be distributed for other plants to use. As well, moisture is also wicked upwards outside of the roots for other plants to benefit from. Weeds like Mugwort may also be helpful in absorbing heavy metals from the ground, stopping erosion and adding nutrients to soil.

Attracting Beneficial Insects and Luring Away Pests:

Certain repellent weeds such as dandelions, cockleburs and goldenrod can help to deter pests such as army worms. As well, other weeds including Lamb’s-quarters and Rosa multiflora will help protect your garden by luring away insects such as leaf miners and Japanese beetles that might otherwise feed on your plants.

Pennycress and dandelions are also great weeds for attracting beneficial insects. Clover is a common weed that can be used to attract earthworms and also to lure away pests such as rabbits. In addition, certain weeds such as Queen Anne’s lace, goldenrod, evening primrose, wild mustard, amaranth and dandelions will help to attract beneficial insects that will feed on and eliminate the harmful ones.

So, next time you go to weed your garden take a closer look and remember not all weeds are bad!

Image by davetoaster