7 Ways to USE Weeds In Your Garden

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The definition of a weed is "A plant that is not valued where it is growing", so here are 7 ways you can learn to VALUE those plants and turn them into useful helpers in your edible and ornamental gardens.
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[@pupiklover5853]

When making the liquid organic fertilizer, two weeks like Kevin mentioned is the minimum time you must leave weeds in the water for. The longer you leave the weeds in the water, the stronger the nutrient becomes. You can feasibly leave it for months or years even, the concentration of nutrient will increase. BE CAREFUL because it is possible to hurt plants by giving too many nutrients. The longer you brew, the more water you should dilute with ❤

[@juliemcgugan1244]

Yeah, I've got really bomb-proof weeds where I am and two weeks in water would be nothing to them! They're in there for months and months!

[@jacobrafaat1516]

Not necessarily stronger, alcohol content increases as more plant sugars are fermented over time, and alcohol can kill plants in higher concentrations

[@OwiWanColenobi]

​@@jacobrafaat1516 we're rotting weeds in water, putrification not fermentation, I don't think it produces alcohol

[@jooooohn401]

Also people should not underestimate how HORRIBLE it will smell. I filled up a 20 gallon tote with a weeds and soaked them in water and I severely regretted that decision a few weeks later. Smelled like sewage, so so bad lol.

[@juliemcgugan1244]

@@jooooohn401 LOL! DO NOT sniff it on purpose. Somehow it is even worse than when you do it by accident or stand downwind of it!

[@ironagentm544]

Compost - 0:23 Browns - 1:25 Chop and Drop - 2:13 Indicators - 3:12 Other uses - 5:14 Moisture meter - 4:16 Weed fertilizer - 6:08 Tell me if I missed anything 👍

[@Wowtigersfiare]

Edible weeds

[@ironagentm544]

@@Wowtigersfiare what time

[@DoritoCocoAnimations]

I think he meant at 5:14

[@alexplorer]

This man just took the lesson and ran with it: Find good material, chop it up to make it more available, and fertilize the field!

[@CoffeeCakeCrumble]

I started making liquid weed fertilizer last year in a 55 gallon barrel with a spigot. That barrel heated up and....... Omg. The smell. Even with the lid on. Of course I had it near where I work. There were days I tell ya, there were days😖😖😖

[@kat1984]

I love growing oxalis as a houseplant. They're pretty and they bloom constantly. Weeds are generally just plants in an undesirable location.

[@Hiddenleaf58]

This channel only gets better and better with time, like a good weed fertilizer 💚

[@umiluv]

I had a bucket of swamp water going and my husband went berserk and emptied all the buckets to prevent mosquitos. So he dumped my swamp water and then realized he made a mistake. I asked him if he at least dumped it in the compost and he said no lol. >.< Sigh… that bucket was going all winter and was naturally filled with rain water. =(

[@juliemcgugan1244]

Do you still get mosquitos in winter, where you are? Our are dead by November, so they must be some lightweight mosquitos, because we don't usually see them again until May.

[@jude7321]

@umiluv Is he still alive?! Jude, from Kentucky ✝️🐴🌿🌿🌿❣️

[@rocky1raquel]

I LOVE that you’re “studying” and constantly learning about other natural methods like the Korean way of soluble fertilizers! Pleeease keep us informed! 👍🏼🙏🏼

[@smas3256]

I came across a video using cuke peels in water. A parsley. I kept procrastinating to put in a larger pot. The roots were pushing the plant up out of the pot and dry as a bone. I diluted cuke peel water with more water, gave it to the parsley and waited. POW. Lush, green and so healthy. Then I put it into a larger pot. I use it on my onions and garlic that are both a new project for me. I also use potato water for those plants. Onion and garlic are growing and happy.

[@kimberleybruesch3876]

I started my first batch of weed fertilizer about three weeks ago. I swear KZbin is spying on me. It knows my every move.

[@donnabrooks1173]

😂😂

[@jo-annjewett198]

I have two swamp buckets going. It is the only place I put seeded weeds.

[@GLG_YT]

Weeds are like a free cover crop that everyone has. WEEDS ARE GREAT!!!

[@goodtroublemaker143]

I keep telling my husband this…

[@elisabetk2595]

The trick is to not let them get big, at least things like sunflowers with taproods, and to not allow rhizome-spreaders like bermuda to get in there. Otherwise, I leave them alone until right before we plant. At that point we chop them off right below ground level, plant, and then cover the soil with a few inches of mulch, so it's never left bare. It is so good to plant into living soil.

[@GLG_YT]

@@goodtroublemaker143 lol

[@GLG_YT]

@@elisabetk2595 I agree

[@juliemcgugan1244]

@@elisabetk2595 They are really great at preventing soil erosion during the winter, when we get a ton of rain. And by February or March, the ground is so nice and soft so they are easy to pull up.

[@sharonlockwood1825]

“It’s a choose your own adventure”, I love that! 🤣💙

[@waterisgold]

That reply of kev smelling that toxic sludge was literally priceless😂😂😂😂😂😂

[@m.dilitto5488]

I'd add that once you've identified them as safe, weeds are a great thing to toss to your chickens or ducks, ours love it. Also, give some love to dandelions. They're one of the first food sources for bees in the spring in colder climates and are a great edible plant. Let 'em grow where they're not competing with your plants for nutrients

[@epicgardening]

Damn I forgot to add that one!

[@ChefIsaac925]

Jadam book said to add anything , the more verity the better because different plants have different nutrients

[@pear92]

I saw online earlier this week that dandelions actually aren’t native to America, and thus our native bees don’t really go to them (the bees that do are honeybees, which also came from Europe), and that you’re better off planting native flowers if you want to support pollinators. I only saw this from that one source though, so 🤷🏻. Not sure if it’s actually true (haven’t looked it up further or anything)

[@m.dilitto5488]

@Kris Orchard mason bees as well as a number of native butterflies benefit from dandelions as well as European honey bees. Native species are great, but if dandelions are seeding in your yard, they're a free way to boost native pollinators 👍

[@elisabetk2595]

@@epicgardening Sow thistle is a great food source for birds, but not a great thing to have around your garden (if you've ever accidentally grabbed one with a bare hand, you know) and unfortunately it can spread its seeds prolifically into your neighbor's yard.

[@FrozEnbyWolf150]

In addition to being a good method to make liquid fertilizer, soaking weeds in water also creates a breeding ground for hoverflies, which are important pollinators. Not only do hoverflies display biomimicry with respect to bees, they also serve the same function in your garden.

[@monikasturm2575]

I love my weeds. Depending on what they are We throw them in salads and make medicinal tinctures and balms out of them. Also many people throw out the leaves of their brassica vegetables but we use them to make a side dish of greens out of the leaves.

[@conniecrites5148]

I dehydrated my Broccoli leafs to add to dishes.

[@juliemcgugan1244]

@@conniecrites5148 Personally, I love broccoli and cauliflower greens better than the 'flower' parts. But then, I am also the only person in my family who eats spinach and chard, nobody else likes it, so as a kid, I wasn't really given a choice on which parts to eat. But now I'm on my own, I can do whatever I want! My pets get the flowers, I have the cauliflower and broccoli greens.

[@sagepremoe1565]

I'm so glad to see a video on the viability of weeds. Weeds have been equated to "dirty" and they are the most medicinal, amazing plants. They are the plant healers, activating the soil when damaged and are food!

[@GLG_YT]

Can you make a video on stinging nettle tea you could also do a video of a lot of different weeds you can eat

[@johntheegardener]

Thank you for educating gardeners on the benefit of “weeds”! This year I will be using my comfrey to create a fertilizer. My goal is to learn how to address any soil and plant needs with resources available around me in nature without buying fertilizers. Looking forward to future videos on this topic!

[@jacobrafaat1516]

Comfrey is the shit best of luck!

[@AdarableKitten]

Comfrey is also a medicinal herb and great for home medicines

[@jude7321]

Comfrey!

[@pash9956]

Our cilantro turned into a "weed" and it's growing everywhere. Also, some lettuces are showing up. Gotu Kola is a very pretty, yet invasive plant. Medicinal and edible.

[@illuminate2140]

Same here with arugula and lettuce. Even the carrot. I like keeping them though because the pollinators love them and they’re good as backup.

[@erntaku]

A string trimmer/whipper snipper/weed whacker and a lawn mower are your friends when it comes to chop and dropping weeds. I've brought a lot of our soil back to life by letting weeds/grass grow and either knocking em down with the trimmer or raking em up and running em over with the mower before pitching em in the compost pit.

[@caesartobar-acosta8312]

We just did some weeding in the community garden at my job, and this is perfect timing for me. I didn't think about desiccating them and might make a spot down there just for it too

[@DarkGT]

Another tip, I watched big farmers using the organic matter from the compost to produce beneficial bacteria and other microorganisms in water form which they use as soil improvement. They let composts in water up to 2 hours and then use the water. Maybe you can combine the weeds and the compost water, something I definitely will try this year.

[@jeannamcgregor9967]

Thanks! I have a bucket of fetid swamp water made from that same oxalis pes-caprae (our garden nemesis here in NorCal) and need to get it into the garden.

[@NovaRanger007]

I have been following David about this Fetid Swamp Water ™ as well... he too does warn that the smell would be horrible.

[@juliemcgugan1244]

@@NovaRanger007 I used to make comfrey tea and that was rancid! You daren't get any on you skin, because you will smell it for days! I want to have a go with weeds. I don't imagine they will smell any less that the comfrey.

[@nagymesterb111]

+1: shade crop: lamb's quarters +2: ground cover: purslane and both are edible and yummie and fast growing

[@BR0STRADAMUS]

Looking forward to your future KNF and Jadam videos! The Great thing about KNF (and Jadam specifically) is showcasing the accessibility of organic gardening inputs that you can make yourself, much like your 'weed tea' in this video. Personally I think Jadam is more applicable than KNF for backyard gardeners and would highly reccomend anyone and everyone check out some of the techniques utilized in Jadam

[@spacecat8511]

Oh I LOVE this!! Idk, maybe it’s because I find weeds nifty lil dudes, but seeing them acknowledged as something useful vs “in the way to be eradicated” just makes me really happy. I can’t have any sort of garden right now, but if I can in the future I’ll definitely try to compost or convert those plants to liquid fertilizer if I end up needing to disturb them at all vs letting them be or keeping them trimmed.

[@colsen4616]

I hadn’t thought of drying plant material to use as the brown component (which I am also seriously lacking) in compost. Thanks!

[@caseyfletcher3720]

A couple of years ago I started using a comfrey pipe system. I have used it as a weed press also. It was easy to construct, is out of the way and produces a thick black liquid that can be stored and diluted as needed. I clean it out in the very early spring or when it is too full. It takes about 3 weeks for the juices to begin to run.

[@J87Visuals]

Great information! Appreciate your videos

[@anaathas9352]

Zone 4b here! I have been keeping a weeding bucket out next to my garden beds, and it has been slowly filling with rainwater over the past couple weeks. I am a lazy gardener who doesn't always put things away. It was getting pretty gross, and I went and dumped a bit into a struggling, dry garden bed, but that smell overcame me... I followed it up with a spray of the hose. I am so glad I watched this video, because I learned that I inadvertently watered my garden with a nutrient-packed super fertilizer! Now I will have to wait and see if things will die from over-fertilizing, or thrive! ALSO I have waaayyy too many thistles and oxalis in my garden... Time for a soil test! Thanks Kevin!

[@shelbyrose2791]

This weeding bucket is my new inso - thank you! 🙏 So simple. So genius.

[@GrowYourHomesteadWithAngie]

I like the idea of weed fertalizer. I try and keep what I can because I agree they are plants we just don’t like. So happy it’s spring here in Michigan finally. Ready to get dirt under my nails

[@lauriepowell3959]

Thanks for making it short, succinct and sweet!

[@CardinalTreehouse]

During the indicators section, it may not be that the oxalis is there because the soil holds onto moisture too well, but because there is too much water present. That area was right by the spigot for your hose, and I don't think I've ever seen one that doesn't leak. Couple that with it being in a shady area, preventing sun from drying some of that up, and you get a situation that looks like that soil might not drain well when it's actually an overload of water. Just my 2 cents, keep up the great work 😀

[@prepper4godgbee328]

great ideas. Espcially liked the natural watering depth meter!

[@sirblacksmith2297]

Oo this one's a good one, thanks kev!

[@vekhokutsutso5054]

I'll try it, very informative..

[@joycebovee5818]

I wanna wish you a happy Easter!

[@mimirose4012]

Thank you, I learned so much!

[@freeman4755]

Great video! I'd love to see the video on Korean Natural farming that you hinted at in the future!

[@epicgardening]

Coming soon! I just had Youngsong Cho on the podcast!

[@devo7390]

In Bulgaria what we do is we create the same liquid fertilizer but with Nettle. It grows super fast and tall it doesn’t take too much room ( please contain it or it will spread like wildfire). It’s rich in iron and amazing for tomatoes. Not to mention you can use any part of the plant and make things like tea, cook it with eggs and feta cheese or make a soup with rice. It’s an amazing plant. I used to have Nettle for this purpose in my old garden in US, but we recently bought a house so now I have to mandatory plant more.

[@RepairRenovateRenew]

Oxalis is also good when made into a tea using the stems for cleansing and detoxifying the body. I used to chew on them as a kid.

[@monocle2848]

So much love for this video!!!!!!!!!!❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤ I am often looked @ as a crazy person when u bring up these points!!!♡

[@grisespino5342]

This was great, thanks.

[@aureile01]

I have another use for my weed

[@carolyncarlon9870]

Think Charles Dowding has a different perspective of adding seeded and rhysome type plants to compost. Properly heated compost kills it all! Check in again with Charles, Kevin. Works for me in San Diego AND Vermont!

[@lisagoldberg5178]

Yogi Tea has a great tasting "Roasted Dandelion Spice" Tea. Dandelion's have many health benefits.

[@freakingbored]

as a kid, i chewed on those oxalis flowers, sourrrrr

[@jenicacrail9989]

Thank you for this video!!!

[@melindaduncan3073]

My father is from the Philippines and he is visiting right now. We got 5 large raised beds and 5 smaller ones. I want to impress him and get him home faster so I’ve been working hard trying to make it beautiful and hopefully it will be productive. I want him to be proud of me. I live in South Carolina on the Charlotte nc border and we have had fruit trees that have been planted for several years but they hardly produce any fruit. I also think the apple trees look diseased to me. What can I do to get my fruit trees to produce more fruit and what can I do to surprise and wow my father in the garden beds? Thank you so much!

[@juliemcgugan1244]

I was today years old when I learned what oxalis is. I have had it through my beds these last two years, but didn't know what it's name is. Definitely going to check the pH of my soil!

[@danielleahy15]

Work for an Aquascape CAC (literally exactly the company/contractor dudes that built the Epic Pond) and I get to bring home buckets of pond muck from our clean out work. This stuff is garden jet fuel. I swear by it. Also pond water from an ecosystem garden pond is amazing for your plants as well. Always gotta have weed tea though because ive learned it's used for a lot of things in gardening.

[@danielleahy15]

I should point out not the same company that built that pond but that my company is the west michigan version of that and we are aquascape master CACs.

[@doriswlongAgoandfarAway]

Worthy - thanks!

[@weibullguy]

Seed heads and rhizomes are perfectly safe for hot compost. It's only cold compost that you don't want to use them in.

[@michellespencer8838]

Alotta things with dandelions every part is useable I made honey last yr. My granddaughter gets sore throats she comes down takes a teaspoon of it and works like a dream

[@ricky7111]

Some weeds I keep and nurture. Many weeds can make a great ground cover. They are great for pollinators. They grow with little to no care or watering. Some pests will prefer the native plants instead of your store bought plants. And like he mentioned, the food. I'm using native herbs and make a bunch of teas.

[@ChefIsaac925]

My first year gardening was last year and I started with KNF and made all my inputs, no wonder I was so overwhelmed 😅 lol

[@BROALEX99]

5:21 I am in shock now i don't know that mallow is one of the most side dish in my country and Middle East it's just It is classified as a Noxious weed

[@dianethomas01]

Super helpful!

[@user-sw5pj9cf3t]

i've done the weed fertilizer in a small scale using a pickle jar. within a couple days there was enough fermenting going on that it popped the seal bubble on the cap. sliding a knife under the lip of the cap and hssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss. of course it smelled like a decaying sewer but yeah it worked. even faster if you put it someplace warm

[@jeanetteschulthe1andOnly]

Thank you, Kevin.

[@jaykeinnes6793]

I've never seen them outside Australia and I'm 99% sure it was an Aussie Sheila who invented it but a tool known as the McLeod tool is great for ripping weeds out and is pretty much a heavy duty hou with big prongs on the back. Worth a look into if you're un familiar with them

[@teresas3550]

I grew up munching on yellow oxalis just like you have in your yard Kevin. It is sour and can be used to make a lemon like tea.

[@ginnupdotcom]

FAM - I appreciate your content!!!

[@megaflux7144]

great idea for a video!

[@jenkhemhuffersanonymous3990]

I use alot of KNF recipes I guess and I find it to be very powerful just takes time

[@dplj4428]

Are the thistles you pulled useful for medicinal use?

[@svitlanacharney1571]

David the Good here on KZbin has a Swamp Tea fertilizer with weeds, he follows the Korean Method. I made my last summer, but ended up not using it, will apply to diet before planting this spring.

[@scottytpancakes8553]

Its really great to help "jump start" a brand new compost pile. And a slash in between layers as you build it and youll ve adding MILLIONS of micro organisms to the mix that will start breaking down your pile right away.

[@fishingwithfilitsa]

Great video

[@kellirenee8026]

So wholesome that you mentioned to thank the weeds! Keep the great videos rolling ❤

[@jude7321]

I noticed that too, we should be thankful for everything. Thank you Jesus, the ultimate gardener. Jude, from Kentucky ✝️🐴🌿🍅🌻

[@K-Zone]

Haha, I have oxalis everywhere, and I have an alkaline soil over 7.5 But those are great tips!! Thanks for thks

[@Anaxiphanes]

Some soils are naturally extremely nutrient deficient like sand. In that situation composting weeds is really advantageous because your weeds have to be nitrogen fixing plants. Of course your soil situation is bad, but over time by leaving roots behind and harvesting the green waste for compost you can build organic soil carbon and generate a supply of slow releasing nitrogen fertilizer.

[@trayvixk4642]

I think Monty Don likes to use that technique for his fertilizer too. That's when I first heard of it.

[@vincentsalazar1436]

I've heard that weed fertilizer referred to as swamp tea. And from what I've seen, two weeks isn't enough to kill off any seeds that are in the weeds that are put in. You have to leave it there for about 3 or 4 months. That kills the seeds and gives you something great to be able to put in your garden!

[@cedarridgen2791]

Fertilizer from weeds, very interesting. How do I apply fertilizer, tomato-tone, in a self-watering cedar planter. Size is 8.75 cubic feet. Should i mix fertilizer in with soil before i put the soil in the planter?

[@Gardenurbanish]

I think that I will not use weeds in my compost. I have seen some seeds not fully compost and have to deal with them. I will try the fertilizer.

[@user-ik4xo4jf8v]

Curious if you can soak weeds in water for a couple weeks and then dry them. Would that sprout the seeds and then kill them?

[@rosensidhe3267]

I've seen some weed tea made with stinging nettle used as an organic pesticide? The youtube channel Her86m2 used it for a balcony garden video. :D

[@yarnstead]

More great tips - I’m good at growing weeds, ha ha, so these are really helpful

[@participantparticipant506]

I assume you keep the weed fertilizer bucket covered to stop mosquitos from breeding in it?

[@betsysnyder4176]

Can I add grass clippings to the bucket with the weeds and water?

[@kathrynmettelka7216]

Limited by an HOA, I cannot rip out our Bermuda grass as I would like to but I can enlarge garden beds, which is a sneaky way of reducing the amount of lawn composed of Bermuda grass. I consider Bermuda grass an invasive weed.

[@TheCornBanana]

That chop n drop yool is interesting. What is it called?

[@shaunnichols8170]

I've heard of adding some beer into your weed fertilizer for yeast as an activator. What are your thoughts?

[@k9spot1]

the citrus hedge row is starting to look real good

[@Treegrower]

Where did you get your jacket? I love it

[@elisabetk2595]

Sunflowers and cow pen daisies reseed prolifically into our vegetable garden. I chop and drop in thin layers around my tomatoes and other veg on a continual basis - in Texas summers they need every ounce of mulch they can get, and returning nutrients to the soil helps to preserve fertility.

[@tinkky8354]

Did you have covers on your buckets?

[@xtina1610]

Right on

[@maryc9919]

What is the name of the "tool like this" that is used at about the 2min mark to "chop'n'drop" vegetation?

[@fourcatsandagarden]

Ive been wanting to try nettle tea but there are no stinging nettle plants around me lol. Its the one weed I can never find! (Meanwhile if anyone needs some mustard garlic please come to my yard and you will have a harvest a plenty.)

[@teenfirez9730]

i got a question i got a few buckets ive had out for at least 3 to 5 weeks can it go bad from sitting too long ? is it just me or does the bad smell sometimes smell good lol

[@ninda2949]

Since our house is behind a graveyard there is a lot of vines/weeds. It reaches the roof and it gets through the walls, their roots can manage to damage the walls. My father tried to kill it using some kind of chemical but it lasted for a few weeks. I wonder if it's still safve to use as fertilizer or compost. How do I find out if it's save? I'm sorry for my english, it's my third language and I'm still learning :)

[@rosemariewhitakerreynolds2432]

Hello my name is Rosemarie from Jacksonville FL. I bought birdie beds from you last year and loving it. This comment is not related to this video but I wanted to ask you is if your sell Okinawan Sweet Potato slips (white flesh, purple inside). Please let me know. Thank you.

[@MacabreMole]

What are the weeds seen at 4:24 I love to leave them during the early spring because the ladybugs seem very attracted to it.

[@cortney2631]

Thank you for thia info! Could I get the name of that tool you used here? 1:56

[@manuelapenela1924]

Hula hoe or stirrup hoe.

[@Bad_food_guy]

I soak my weeds in water just like this then in my compost instead of adding water I add the weed juice, when I’m done with the left over sludge I just leave it in a bucket for a couple days till it drys then compost it as browns

[@shelbyrose2791]

The tool you used to scrap the top of the soil surface - what's it called? @ 2:04

[@AlilCompany]

What was the tool you were using to improve the soil?

[@alanpmasters]

Would mowing the weeds and adding them to the compost or drowning them in water work too?