Weeding

I've spent the past few weekends trying to destroy the thriving weed ecosystem in my garden. It's weeds upon weeds upon weeds, with tiny stinging nettle plants tucked into grassy tufts that are shaded by dandelion leaves. All manner of plant cast-offs have found a home in the tough, nutrient-poor sand that I hope to transform into a lovely garden. But first the weeds must go!

Most of the task is invigorating and enjoyable. Those nettles are easy to pull out and sometimes reveal 2- and 3-foot-long root structures that connect several seemingly independent plants together. But the dandelions have become the bane of my existence.

Now, I'm a newbie garden and have gotten most of my information from (I know) the internet. The BBC has a particularly great gardening site that's basically Gardening 101. In the module on pests, it says that perennial weeds must be entirely removed, as they can come back stronger from root bits left in the ground. I've taken this warning very seriously, so I'm fearing a plague of dandelions next year.

The problem is, unlike the small, spidery roots that most weeds leave, the dandelion is an evil genius. It has one long, skinny root (called a tap root, I read) that can survive in the toughest, rockiest soil. I've pulled out at least 30 dandelion plants and have gotten the entire root maybe twice.