At the end of June, gardeners might assume that once the vegetables and annuals are planted, they can sit back and relax. After all, you pulled those spring weeds like the bittercress and the chickweed, so the gardens should be done for the summer, right? This would be so great if it were true! Unfortunately, once the temperatures are consistently warm and the soil is moist from your watering, the summer weeds spring into action. 

One that didn’t make the poster is the Virginia creeper, (Parthenocissus quinquefolia) is abundant in my gardens this year. If there is such a thing as a mast year for vines as there is for trees, the Virginia creeper must have had one last year…I’ve never seen so many seedlings! 

Virginia creeper (Parthenocissus quinquefolia) is especially abundant in my gardens this year.

It’s easiest to pull all of these when they are small. I try and pull them straight up, wearing gloves but not using a weeding tool, because I don’t want to disturb the soil and expose even more weed seeds to the light. Most weed seeds germinate in response to light and moisture, so the fewer that I turn up when pulling these, the better off I am. 

See you in the garden!