We're tackling every gardener's favorite activity: weeding. I know, prob not your fave. But mom and I both take a crack at reframing this maligned garden activity. Let's get on our knees and start plucking!

Want to see pics from the garden? Instagram: @freshclippings

Show art by Alison McKenzie

Production guidance from Evan Roberts

Episode music from Blue Dot Sessions:

Our Son the Potter (Love and Weasel)

Bossa Boa (High Horse)

Gamboler (Pglet)

So there's water falling from the sky, but don't worry.

My weather app says it's not raining.

So must be something else.

The rain is actually one of the reasons I was so excited to move

to Portland every time it rains.

I just picture all the plants just freaking out like, yes.

Ooh.

Yeah, this is awesome.

Like they just look like they're having the best time.

So what I didn't anticipate is that the plants you put in the ground are

not the only ones who love the rain.

The weeds love it to.

And they are making a very aggressive play for basically my entire garden.

So that's what we're going to address today.

We are weeding.

It's not always the most glamorous part of gardening, but I have some

strategies to make the most of it.

So come on, let's get outside.

getting wet, but it's not rain.

okay.

So let's get some existential weeding conversations out of the

way pretty quickly first, you know, most people hate weeding.

I hear ya.

I think the reason people hate it is because it's an

endless task and we hate those.

Like it's so much better to have something that is just like great.

That's done.

Weeding has never finished I'll talk about about some of the strategies I personally

have to make reading more enjoyable.

Um, hint, it's mostly psychological sort of slight of hand,

basically fooling yourself.

Um, and then.

Second thing, like really what is weeding?

You're getting rid of plants that you don't want to be there.

like there's no real actual scientific definition of weeds

because they're all just plants.

. So it's going to, up to you about what you want to get rid of and what you don't to.

First trick for me.

And weeding is like, just start with the most obvious thing.

Like as soon as you step outside, just look around and be like, what needs to go.

Uh, and so for me, the first thing that leaps to my eye is, um, almost

these waist high nettle looking things with sweet little yellow flowers that

have sprung up underneath my makeup.

So we're going to start there.

and.

As soon as you start the task, we'll just kind of like take, take you away with it.

say, like, okay, for the next 45 minutes, I'm just going to hang out in my garden.

I'm going to enjoy the sunshine and.

Just take out all the plants that are kind of ruining my plan or making it

inhospitable for the plants that I've invited to the party to live peacefully.

a lot of times I like to.

Call somebody, uh, when I'm waiting and then, because this is not an

intellectual enterprise by any stretch.

So you can be running your mouth while you're lifting plates for the ground.

Um, and it's kinda nice cause it's, you know, you're outside, you're pretty

relaxed, but your hands are busy.

So it makes for good chatting.

So that chatting tip actually brings up something for me that I've been meaning

to talk with you guys about, which is that I'm going to put my mom on the show.

Um, my mom and I talk about lots of stuff, but we will always start

or in conversations with two things what's going on in the garden.

And what are you eating?

. Um, the earliest memories I have of gardening are all connected to my mom.

So, uh, I actually talked with her about it recently just about

like, Hey, I'm doing this thing.

Would you join on the podcast?

So I thought I'd share some of that here.

All right.

So tell me

what.

What is your, what are you looking for from

me?

It's funny because I don't really even listen to podcasts.

I used to listen to wait, wait, don't tell me which that was hilarious,

but then it was harder during COVID, you know, cause people were closeted.

Literally it didn't have this.

I was gonna ask, uh, we're enjoying spring and the weeds are

enjoying spring quite a bit over here.

So I'm going to do a lot of weeding this week.

And I wanted to ask for weeding tips.

So is

this like, are we in it now?

Yeah,

cause I was just going to tell you,

I do

tend to be a lazy Wieder I'll tell you though.

One thing that I have figured out, uh, it is to me, it's kind of that old

kitchen time saves nine kind of thing.

Because anything that you don't, that you don't take care of now then

tend to have lots of little babies.

I find myself, despite my laziness, I find myself working pretty good.

Uh, seriously during this time of year, because it makes a huge difference.

there's that.

And there is also the fact that one minute weed is another man's really

pretty flower, like dandelion.

A lot of people absolutely hate dandelions, but they make

good soup and they sure send up some pretty flowers, you know.

Have you made dandelion

soup before?

Oh, heck yeah.

When, when I was living in Germany, there were so many, um, dandelions

sat on the playground that I made.

All my kids pick dandelions.

Yeah.

How do you make that?

What's in dandy land?

Not tremendously pleased with it.

I have to be because it's kind of bitter, you know, but it's

been Tricia.

What did you just make them boil weeds and water and drink?

It sounds very punitive.

I had the mom spring green, hot plates in and yeah.

And then they came.

Hey, Brian, good German bread and butter.

All of those things, the desserts, the bread and butter went a lot

faster than the dandelion soup I do,

well, isn't she just the gym.

I'm so excited.

Have her as part of this podcast, sometimes I think

we'll be asking her for advice.

Like, I don't know how to do something or what her perspective, sometimes

just chilling out, talking about gardening, seeing what's going on

and her garden and Albuquerque.

Um, so yeah, I don't, I've been racking my brain to think of like

a more cogent way to talk about how we're bringing mom into the picture,

but I couldn't figure anything out.

So now you've met her.

You're acquainted.

You'll be hearing more from her.

So heads up

so this mysterious sprinkles I was complaining about

earlier, pretty much dried up.

We're getting some occasional sun shower stuff, but overall it's

turned into a pretty nice day.

Uh, there is actually a reason why I'm at.

Well, it's reading besides the fact that it's raining a lot and

probably I couldn't avoid it.

Um, it's actually easier to weed when the ground is wet.

Uh, cause this stuff just kind of comes out easier.

Um, I hate waiting and dry soil cause the soccer's just kind of dig in there

and it's much harder to get them out.

Okay here.

This is case in point for the dangers of weeding.

Uh, I mean, it's basically a gardening gateway drug because I'm waiting, then

I'm getting rid of the monster Clover kind of blocking some area of my garden bed.

And then all of a sudden, now I'm holding a bag of micro Clover seed.

And all of a sudden I'm planting that wasn't in the plan.

It's a dangerous slippery.

Give a mouse, a cookie type of situation where now suddenly I'm

planting seeds in the ground.

I've gone off the rails, but I things in my hand already fell.

Let's just get this done.

Finding Clover is great because you just sprinkle it and then

that's kind of the end of it.

You're not even really gardening.

It's more like you're seasoning something pinch of Clover season with Clover today.

Next thing, you know, I'm going to be getting in the car and go

into home Depot or the nursery

I'll wake up from a fugue state in Boise, Idaho, volunteering for

some sort of utopian plant commune.

oh, well, bless it repeated.

I can't possibly do any more because I ran into a seat and I'm

not going to make a shopping trip.

So let's just call an end and, and, uh, I've got a big pile of weeds.

Now it's going to go in the compost and it starting to look like it's

getting serious about rain again.

And even if that weren't the case, I'd just pretend it was the reason I'm ready

to be done with weeding for the day.

They hope that.

Some of the stuff helps you guys, but also like, I dunno, let the weeds grow.

It's up to you.

What's your garden?

Alright, I see a few more stragglers.

So I'm going to pick these up while we're saying goodbye,

because reading is never done.

Um, but yeah, if you haven't, uh, followed us on Instagram, we're fresh clippings.

I'll post a picture of the weed pile cause wow.

Never seen one of those before.

Right.

Um, it's been a pleasure as well.

Thank you so much for joining me on planet time.

Look forward to seeing you in the garden.

Again, soon,

all this one's roots are wow.

It's like one of those zits that they pop just keeps.