It's the most exciting time of the year. Much like waiting for Santa Claus, the spring season is filled with anticipation and delight. You've cleaned your garden beds, added compost, planted your seeds and watered. Then you wait with the promise of great things to come.
And come they do! Loads of green sprigs the size of a thumbnail but wait - what are they? friend or foe?
If you aren't familiar with the seeds you planted you may be wondering what to do with all those green sprigs. There may be various shapes and sizes that are unfamiliar. Weeds will need to be pulled so that your plants have ample room to grow. You don't want weeds crowding out your precious flowers so what to do? Which ones are the weeds and which are the potentially gorgeous blooms you have been waiting so patiently for. Here's a few tips to help you identify what to pluck and what to care for:
Look for things you can identify first. If there's a weed you're familiar with, start by plucking those to create some space.

For me Lamb's Quarter is a common weed. Something I recognize and know I can pull. I start clearing these first to create some space. (and yes I realize this isn't a weed to some folks but I treat it as such in my garden)
If you think something may be a weed but aren't sure - check other areas of your garden, particularly edges and spots where weeds grow. Do you see that seedling in a number of different places and know you didn't plant your seeds there? Likely a weed.
Wait a week, or two. A lot of seedlings look the same when they first start to grow. Give them a little time to develop their first true set of leaves. That will help you determine what they are.
Do not ever pull something you're not sure about! You can always pull a plant, but you can't put a plant back. I've made this mistake before and "weeded" out entire sections of flowers before realizing what I had done. Think twice before pulling.
Search the internet for photos of your potential seedlings. See if you can match up the seedling to a picture.
My "Here Comes the Sun" flower collection features Sunflowers, Euphorbia, Cosmos, Calendula and Mexican Sunflower. I keep notes of plants, including photos like the ones below, to remind myself year to year of particular growing conditions and other information including what those seedlings look like.





I hope you enjoy this spring season and pull nothing but weeds!
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