Weeds: Distractions
Weeds As Soil Builders
TAILS: The last two days we’ve talked about the ground being cursed with weeds “for our sake”. We learned that we can use weeds as a “poor man’s” soil test, to help determine the presence or absence of certain soil factors. And some weeds we can even eat. Today we will look at weeds as soil builders.
In an article, Organic Pest Control, Phil Nauta, creator of the Smiling Gardener Academy, gives us a few ways weeds help restore the soil:
- They increase the organic content of the soil as they grow and die.
- They break up hardpans, compaction, and erosion.
- They bring minerals and water to soil microbes, the plants’ “nurses”.
- They fix nutritional imbalances.
- They tell us a lot about the condition of our soil through their presence and growth habits.
Phil then asks a question and answers it. “So why do weeds grow in the first place? Weeds are there because they are the most suitable plant for the job, more suitable than what we’re trying to grow.”
HEADS: What, really, are weeds a curse to? Man? Not really… unless he has a close affinity to laziness, indolence, ignorance, self-centeredness, pride, procrastination, slothfulness, idleness, and lethargy.
God knew what He was doing when He introduced weeds to this fallen world. He has a big job on His hands—to turn us around to become productive, happy, intelligent, practical, and interdependent people. I know of no better place to start than in a garden… full of weeds.
Besides healing the land, weeds can also help heal our broken bodies! We will touch on this benefit of weeds tomorrow in Coin 18.
