06/19/2026
Last year I did Teff for half of my paths and LOVED it. But this year I'm doing all fabric. Why? Well, we have pretty obnoxious w**d that I'm determined to get rid of. I saw too much of it cropping up in some of the paths this year (too much = ANY) and because we don't have the capacity to w**d paths also this year, fabric it is to finish solarizing off the plants that germinated this year.
Including a series of photos from the past 2 years - check the caption for information on each.
This w**d is cute but annoying. Daniel, myself and Abigail all have developed an allergy to it now, although it took 2 months of exposure for it to happen. My kids have not, and I don't want them to. Looks like chamomile, it isn't. It's called Mayw**d and it's both noxious and invasive in Washington state. Thankfully it only spreads by seed and 2 years in, we've got out most of it by really focusing on pulling it out and/or solarizing the plants before they can produce seed. I think this year we'll be able to pretty much eliminate it out of the field, which I'm stoked about - all without chemicals.
I'm including a photo from last year of what it does in the comments (it's nasty so don't look if you don't want to see it), because quite a few people think I'm over-reacting when I say "OH IT'S BAD!". We can avoid this type of reaction if we scrub down immediately after exposure, which we do, because the rash feels like a full on chemical burn and takes quite a while to heal (weeks).
It's also worth noting that the skin reaction in the comment photos was while wearing full pants and a long shirt. The rash on the legs happened through clothes while kneeling and w**ding.
So there you have it. Every time someone comments and says "oh those flowers are pretty" or "they can't be that bad" or "I bet they have more medicinal properties than the flowers you plant" my eye full on twitches, because it's been no fun at all. π
Good news is: last year, Daniel and I spent a LOT of time w**ding and this year we're seeing way way less so I'm confident that with solarizing the paths and strict attention to anything that pops up in the rows, it will be pretty much eradicated by next year.