Tuesday afternoon, Cornell Cooperative Extension taught a handful of MAP staff and local urban farmers how to identify different kinds of weeds.
Learning from knowledgeable experts in the field was both interesting and engaging. Scientists passed around various parts of weeds to get an up-close look at how to differentiate the endless kinds we encounter in our farms and gardens.
Weeds were divided into three types: grasses, vines, and mustards.
With grasses, we looked at massive growths like Giant Foxtail, which aggressively outcompetes crops. Witchgrass was an artful looking weed, MAP's Farm Manager, Katie, described it best as "fireworks"!
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| Fireworks in witchgrass! |
In the vine category, the morning glory made a lovely yet unwanted appearance. In many gardens, hummingbirds and bees adore these delicate vine flowers. Yet, the hardy rhizome system that empowers morning glory growth ensures it grows fast and EVERYWHERE. Rhizomes are an underground network of shoots and roots. For plants like morning glories who have structures like rhizomes, they can better survive the winter.
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| Rhizomes (light brown stem) create a hardy, interconnected system of roots, shoots, and stems in the soil. |
For mustards, many of the weeds carried that characteristically "mustardy" aroma. Shepherd's purse is an easy mustard to ID, with star-shaped hairy leaves that are named after the container that some shepherds used to carry their lunches in! The yellow rocket mustard was another standout with its bright hue and its notoriety for popping up first in springtime.
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| Shepherd's purse |
Weeds are an annoyance, but also quite fascinating. They are persistent and adaptive beings. To combat them, a gardener or farmer must also be persistent and adaptive.
Thank you so much to the knowledgeable agriculture and plant experts at Cornell Cooperative Extension!
Have a weed you can't identify? Submit it to Cornell for Weed ID.
(All weed images are from Cornell University.)
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