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Weeds vs Plants: Simple Tricks to Differentiate Between Weeds and Vegetables in the Garden

June 4, 2020

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Your garden is in and your seeds are finally starting to poke above the ground. . . hurray!  But there’s also some other things growing in your garden, and frankly, you’re not sure which is which.  While I can’t possibly know every single weed in North America, I can give you some tips and things you can try before planting to help you figure out which plants are weeds, and which plants are those vegetables you worked so hard to grow.

Planting a vegetable garden for the first time? You'll need to know how to figure out what are weeds and what are plants. Whether you garden in raised beds, small spaces, or by rows, you need to know these beginner gardening tips! #weeds #vegetablegardening #gardening #planting #seedlings #beginnergardener #firsttimegardener

This post contains affiliate links, which means that if you purchase something after clicking one of my links, I earn a bit of money at no extra cost to you.  Thanks for supporting Shifting Roots!  You can read more about it in my Privacy Policy.

Write Down What You Planted Where in Your Garden Planner

Prevention is the best medicine, and the half the battle of figuring out if it’s a weed or a vegetable is knowing what you planted in the first place!  There is nothing more frustrating than seeing a ton of little green bits coming up, only to realize you have totally forgotten what you planted!  Now you have to wait a week or more to let everything grow so you can figure it out and hope that you get it right.

You can avoid this whole mess by documenting everything you grow.  Download this free planner, which contains 4 different planning grids and lots of checklists and trackers for you to keep everything organized.

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Look for Plants That Are Growing in Rows or Patterns

Chances are, you didn’t just seed willy-nilly.  You probably planted your vegetables in rows, or you used the seeding square if you’re square foot gardening.  Yes, it’s possible that every plant didn’t germinate, but likely most of them did–enough that you can see some sort of pattern.

Planting a vegetable garden for the first time? You'll need to know how to figure out what are weeds and what are plants. Whether you garden in raised beds, small spaces, or by rows, you need to know these beginner gardening tips! #weeds #vegetablegardening #gardening #planting #seedlings #beginnergardener #firsttimegardener

Using this example with the seeding square, you can see that the green plants make a pattern, and it’s easy to then determine what needs to go.  Unfortunately, not every seed germinated and the birds are in love with my spinach.

When in Doubt, Let the Weeds Grow a Little Longer

Sometimes you just don’t know.  There are some weeds that look exactly like vegetables, especially when they’re in the two leaf stage.

For example, spinach looks an awful lot like grass, and carrots look a lot like the weed that gets these cute little yellow cones on top of it.  (Sorry, I don’t know the name!)  In fact, that weed looks so much like carrots, that one year I let it grow until it started to get the yellow cone.  I thought my carrot crop had come in so well that year, but once the difference was clear and I pulled the weeds out, and realized that I barely had any carrots.

Wait until the plant-in-question is in the four or six leaf stage.  Usually by then you can easily figure it out.

Got a larger area to weed?  Find my favourite weeding tool in this post of 10 Vegetable Gardening Essentials

Planting a vegetable garden for the first time? You'll need to know how to figure out what are weeds and what are plants. Whether you garden in raised beds, small spaces, or by rows, you need to know these beginner gardening tips! #weeds #vegetablegardening #gardening #planting #seedlings #beginnergardener #firsttimegardener

Learn from Experience

The longer you garden, the more you’ll get to know what weeds in your area look like.  You’ll also learn what different vegetables look like at different stages, and be able to pick weeds with confidence.

In the mean time, don’t worry if you pick a few vegetables along with the weeds.  Every new gardener has done it at one point or another.

Everyone picks some vegetables with the weeds.Click To Tweet

If you want extra help, join the Growing Roots Gardening Community on Facebook and post a picture of your “weed or plant” area.  We have gardeners from all across North America, and even a few in Australia and the EU who are more than willing to help you out.


Wish you could weed with confidence, knowing you weren’t accidentally pulling out your entire garden?

The weeds vs. plants e-book is a visual guide that will help you quickly identify the most common vegetables and flowers at the beginning stages, so you know exactly what to keep and can pull everything else. No more guessing!

Click here to learn more!


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Kristen Raney

Kristen is a former farm kid turned urban gardener who owns the popular gardening website, Shifting Roots.  She is obsessed with growing flowers and pushing the limits of what can be grown in her zone 3b garden.  She also loves to grow tomatoes, but oddly enough, dislikes eating them raw.

6 Comments
Filed Under: Gardening, Seeding Square Tagged: beginner gardening, vegetable gardening, Weeds

About Kristen Raney

Kristen is a former farm kid turned urban gardener who owns the popular gardening website, Shifting Roots.  She is obsessed with growing flowers and pushing the limits of what can be grown in her zone 3b garden.  She also loves to grow tomatoes, but oddly enough, dislikes eating them raw.

Comments

  1. Marion says

    June 4, 2018 at 8:27 pm

    Some weeds are edible or medicinal and I happily let them grow. Right now I have purslane and lambs quarters that I've been harvesting and putting in smoothies. Last year I was delighted to find Mexican sour gherkin volunteering. It's a wild plant that produces tiny cucumber like fruits that has recently become cultivated. Medicinal "weeds" in my garden include dandelion (also edible), plantain leaf, and mullien.
    Reply
    • Kristen Raney says

      June 4, 2018 at 9:16 pm

      Wow, that's awesome that you're able to do so much with the weeds in your garden. The Mexican sour gherkin actually sounds kind of cool!
      Reply
    • Eli says

      July 16, 2019 at 6:25 am

      I did not know you could eat lambsquarters raw, every year it is better than whatever ice planted but at least I know I will get something even if all my crops fail. But be careful Simone once fed me handy soup and its a strong herb and an significant so be really careful especially with pregnant guests that you don't throw something wild in the salad that might damage them. We are less aclimagizex to eating strong herbs than we were a hundred years ago.
      Reply
  2. Lazy Harp Seal says

    June 8, 2018 at 3:36 pm

    lol I still had to google "larkspur seedling" to confirm that it had sprouted. Every year I mistake the frikkin dill for the thing I'm intending to grow. Obviously when it gets a little leaf or two, you can pinch it and it smells like dill. Bontanical Interests' seed packets do come with drawings of the seedlings on the inside of the packet, which I always like. Another idea might be to take pictures when you do identify your sprouts, so that you'll have it for the next year.
    Reply
    • Kristen Raney says

      June 10, 2018 at 10:24 pm

      I'm doing that this year so it will be a lot easier next year! Glad to know I'm not the only one who struggles.
      Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Teaching Children Life Lessons Through Gardening | Dragonflypower says:
    December 9, 2020 at 7:02 pm
    […] has gotten beyond its vegetative development stage. But if you’re growing from seeds, a seedling might look the same with some weeds in its first few days or weeks. If you don’t know how your plant would look like, you might end […]
    Reply

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Welcome!

Hi, I'm Kristen and I help new gardeners learn to grow their own vegetables and beautify their yards. I also share recipes that use all that delicious garden produce. Grab a coffee (and your gardening gloves) and join me for gardening tips, simple recipes, and the occasional DIY, all from the lovely city of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.

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Welcome!

Hi, I’m Kristen and I help new gardeners learn to grow their own vegetables and beautify their yards. I also share recipes that use all that delicious garden produce. Grab a coffee (and your gardening gloves) and join me for gardening tips, simple recipes, and the occasional DIY, all from the lovely city of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.

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Got the seed starting itch? There's some things y Got the seed starting itch?  There's some things you can actually seed start now and you won't end up with crazy leggy seedlings and endless problems.  In fact, these plants require that you start now, and need to be started in zone 3 by the end of February at the absolute latest.⁠
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I've already started some lisianthus and eucalyptus, and am waiting on my seed orders to start some more.⁠
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➡️It needs a long time to mature⁠
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📸 by @blushbrandphotography
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