Met an old guy at the community garden who changed how I see weeds

I was pulling out dandelions at the garden near my apartment last spring, and this older guy named Joe just sat down on the bench nearby. He pointed at a patch of clover and said, "you know that's free fertilizer, right?" He spent the next 20 minutes showing me how the roots break up clay soil and bring up nutrients for the veggies. It totally flipped my view on letting some "weeds" stay - has anyone else had a surprise lesson from a stranger like that?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_jade2d ago

An old guy at my gym told me to stop fighting against my own body and start working with it. I was always trying to force my hamstrings to stretch, and he showed me how to use a foam roller and some specific movements to actually release the tension. Spent maybe 10 minutes with him and it changed my whole warmup routine. Those random lessons from strangers who just know their stuff are gold.

drew_west2d ago

@the_jade hit the nail on the head. Those random strangers know their stuff. For the weed thing, same deal. Joe told me to leave the dandelions until they flowered. Then yank them. The deep taproot aerates the soil while it's alive. And the flowers bring bees in early spring when not much else is blooming. Small shift. Big difference.

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