“Field herb or back yard pharmaceutical are not euphemisms for weed but more accurate representations of the truth.”

*(recipes below)

This section is dedicated to the tarnished reputation of field herbs (aka weeds) My goal is to provide some much needed reparation to their reputation. Despite my growing excitement and appreciation for all greens valuable, my former life’s interaction with picking weeds is a source of deep emotional scars. It was difficult to learn to not see them as dreadful enemies to mercilessly eradicate. I have made great progress though.

Picking weeds constantly reinforces the belief that these plants are awful useless pests. One does not overcome such a bias overnight. Oh how I hated purslane, lady thumb, lambs quarter, shepherds purse, plantain, dandelion and others I now call my “friends”.

Weeds are an incredibly formidable foe for the conventional gardener. After a days work of reducing weeds to a manageable level, I usually left things at a tolerable compromise.

Today I show gardeners how to joyfully turn a new leaf. I have entered a realm of herb enlightenment but it has taken some time to put old prejudices aside. At times I struggle still but there’s no going back, I know too much to ever be ignorant again. Believing that every one of God’s creations has a good and wise purpose is a meaningful path to enlightenment. It leads one to an opportunity to lose fear and work with nature rather than against. To replace “hatred” with love and “false traditions” with truth is a journey.

To have love for ones enemy builds bridges and opens the way for peace. It encourages learning more about something and discovering its good qualities. The best bridge are built by “interaction”. To spend time with, and learn about something, or someone, is how appreciation is formed. One of the best way to do this with weeds is to use and eat them. There are many good books about weeds as food and medicine but I make it simple for you here (below).

Today, using the Scyon Faith Based gardening technique, I stand and look at my “weed free” garden enjoying it the way a garden should be enjoyed. Each visit is a pleasant adventure and I can use most of my time on “value added” measures rather than mitigation operations. Looking at “all” my plants I feel happy and grateful for such bounty. Proper mulching techniques will prevent most weeds but another reason I consider my garden “weed free” is because I no longer see weeds as “weeds” but useful companion crops.

Understanding that weeds are but a symptom of a larger problem gives one the wisdom to begin reversing negative trends. Poor soil conditions result in everything from weeds to pests and plant disease. The Scyon garden method reveals the solution for healed ground where most weeds can’t thrive. Instead of carpets of unmanageable weeds I work on providing carpets of deep mulch and cover crops. Cover crops provide benefit because they control the soil around them. Proper soil management increases soil ecology, chemistry and water retention. In addition, weeds growing in fertile soil are so much bigger and better than those found in cracks or roadsides. If you need a weed for its medicinal benefits, do you want a tiny one from the roadside or a healthy one from the garden?

The term “weed” is a problem. Where did it come from? It was first a Middle English word “wede” meaning 'mad or crazy', also used as nickname for a person who is easily angered. In the start of the 20th Century the word “weed” was used to refer to cannabis and eventually evolved to become a general term for any plant growing where it is not wanted. In other words, a volunteer lettuce, corn or tomato is a weed if found growing somewhere un intended and has to get “yanked”. Does that sound right?

This term “weed” caries a very negative connotation and must be eliminated from the gardeners vocabulary and used correctly. A healthy garden allows plants to grow together as companion crops. Rather than limiting our conventional wisdom with words, we can begin to change our biases with more fitting terms like “Field herbs” or “back yard pharmaceutical’s”. These are not euphemisms, they are a more accurate representation of the truth. Rather, the term “weed” is far more misplaced and unfairly misleading. Just because hardware stores sell seed weed spray, just because some HOAs forbids dandelions to grow on lawns, and just because broad leaf herbs are not featured on the cover of home and garden magazines does not make such prejudices against them correct. Some customs are wrong and should be changed. lawns covered in spring blankets of dandelion or clover are so very beautiful to me and it just so happens they make for a healthy more drought tolerant lawn and feed many variety of pollinators at the same time. It all comes down to perspective.

Lets dive into my common list of “field herbs” and have some fun.