Wild, weedy, and wise: How to manage weeds with less guilt and more strategy

There’s a particular kind of guilt that comes with weeds.

You know the one. That sinking feeling as you walk past beds where weeds are clearly winning. The mental calculation of how many hours it would take to reclaim the space. The quiet shame that whispers, “A proper flower farmer wouldn’t let it get this bad.”

I’ve felt it. Most growers I know have felt it.

But here’s what changed everything for me: realising that weeds aren’t the problem.

Weeds in the wrong place are the problem you need a solution for.

Once I stopped trying to eliminate weeds everywhere—and started thinking strategically about where they actually cost me money—everything shifted.

Less guilt. Better decisions. More profitable use of my time.

Weeds Are Brilliant. Just Not in Your Flower Beds.

Let’s be honest: weeds are incredibly successful plants. They germinate quickly, grow vigorously, and thrive in disturbed soil. They’re doing exactly what they’re designed to do.

The lean insight? It’s not about defeating them—it’s about directing them.

Let weeds do their thing in spaces where they don’t compete with your revenue. Keep them out of the spaces where they do.

The Productive Space Map

Not all spaces in your growing area deserve the same weed management effort. The key is understanding which zones directly generate revenue—and which don't.

🌼 Zone 1: High-Value Crop Beds

Premium crops like dahlias, lisianthus, specialty roses.
Weed strategy: Zero tolerance. These are revenue engines—keep them clear.

🌸 Zone 2: Annual Production Beds

Reliable annuals—zinnias, cosmos, sunflowers, celosia.
Weed strategy: Prevent where possible. Manage efficiently; perfection not required.

🌿 Zone 3: Perennial Beds

Delphiniums, scabious, achillea, heleniums, etc.
Weed strategy: Mulch and manage actively, especially during dieback periods.

🚶 Zone 4: Working Pathways

The spaces that support access and layout.
Weed strategy: Keep them functional. Mow, don’t obsess.

🌾 Zone 5: Field Margins & Perimeters

Fence lines, boundaries, non-crop edges.
Weed strategy: Let them be wild. Intervene only to prevent seeding into beds.

Prevention: Where Your Time Pays Off

The most valuable weed management lesson from lean thinking: prevent weeds from being a problem in your productive beds rather than getting better at dealing with them after they appear.

Every hour spent on prevention typically saves three to five hours of management later. That's not just more efficient—it's more profitable.

Prevention strategies for Zones 1, 2  and 3:

• Never leave production beds empty.
  If you're not growing flowers in a bed, cover it with weed mat or plastic for occultation. Two weeks in summer or four weeks in winter will compost existing weeds in place and create a stale seedbed.

• Transplant rather than direct seed where practical.
  Transplants outcompete weeds early on—especially important in Zone 1 beds where growth delays cost you money.

• Mulch your high-value crops.
  Whether it's compost, woodchips, or weed mat with holes burned for planting, mulch deprives weeds of light and space. The investment pays off in time saved.

• Never let a weed—or self-seeder—go to seed.
  Yes, I’m looking at you, forget-me-nots and Ammi majus.

Strategic Management: When and Where It Matters

Even with good prevention, you'll still need to manage some weeds. Lean management means being strategic about when and how you intervene.

🧵 Intervene at the “white thread” stage.
This is when weed seedlings have just germinated and are barely visible. A shallow pass with a hoe at this stage takes minutes and prevents weeks of growth. Wait until weeds are established and you've multiplied your work tenfold.

🪏 Use the right tool for the job.
Wire weeders work brilliantly around established plants because you can get close without damaging crops. Collinear hoes are excellent for open bed surfaces. Stirrup hoes work well in pathways. Having the right tool for the context saves significant time.

🌱 Direct seed only in low-pressure beds.
Beds that were recently under weed mat, or where the previous crop was aggressively weeded (like lisianthus), or that have been freshly mulched are good candidates. Everything else? Transplant.

⏱️ Prioritise timing over total coverage.
There's a window at the beginning of the growing season when weeds start growing aggressively. Getting on top of them then—across all your productive beds—prevents exponentially more work later when they're seeding and spreading.

What This Looks Like in Practice

Here's how I actually apply this framework:

My dahlia beds (Zone 1) get mulched with compost after planting. Any weeds that emerge get pulled immediately. I spend maybe 15 minutes per bed per week keeping them completely clear because those flowers generate premium revenue.

My zinnia and cosmos beds (Zone 2) get one or two good weedings early in the season, then the crops outcompete most weeds once established. I'll pull obvious competitors but don't obsess over small weeds under the canopy.

My crop perennials beds (Zone 3) get well weeded and mulched at the end and beginning of the season to give the plants the best chance to rest and regrow.  Often it’s the perennial weeds that can be hardest to battle.

My pathways (Zone 4) get mowed every few weeks during the growing season—before anything sets seed. They're not pristine. There’s clover, grass, the occasional rogue calendula. It’s not tidy—but it works.

My field margins (Zone 5) are left Wild. There are native grasses, wildflowers, all sorts of vigorous growth. It looks intentional (which it is) and it's a working habitat for beneficial insects. I only intervene if something particularly aggressive starts moving toward my productive beds.

The relief of accepting that not every square metre needs the same management? That mental shift alone was worth the lean thinking approach.

The Questions to Ask

To apply this framework to your own growing space, ask yourself:

Which beds generate the most revenue per square metre?
Those are your Zone 1 candidates. They deserve your best prevention strategies and most vigilant management.

Where are weeds actually costing you money?
If weeds in a bed are slowing crop growth, reducing flower quality, or making harvest difficult—that's where your time investment pays off.

Where are you spending time on weeds that don't affect your bottom line?
Field margins that aren't encroaching on beds? Those are candidates for intentional neglect rather than intervention.

What prevention strategies could you implement once that save hours of management later?
Standard bed sizes for efficient weed mat use? Occultation periods built into your crop rotation? Transplanting instead of direct seeding for your most valuable crops?

The Real Goal

Lean weed management isn't about having the tidiest farm or proving you're a diligent grower. It's about creating and maintaining weed-free productive space—the beds that directly generate revenue and the pathways that give you access to them.

Everything else? Let it be wild.

When you stop trying to eliminate all weeds everywhere and focus on keeping your productive zones clear, something shifts. You have more time for the activities that actually build your business. You feel less overwhelmed. You make more strategic decisions about where your effort matters most.

That's not lowering your standards. That's being smart about where those standards need to be highest.

Because time spent weeding field margins that don't affect crop growth is time you could have spent harvesting flowers, building customer relationships, or—revolutionary thought—actually resting.

The best weed management strategy?  It’s the one you can sustain across a season—and still have the energy for everything else your business needs.

And sometimes, that means accepting that some spaces aren't just allowed to have weeds—they're better off with them.

Written by: Julie Treanor - Owner of The Pickery and co-creator of The Floral Business Activator.  A seasonal flower grower who learned that weed-free productive space matters more than a weed-free farm.

Follow Julie on Instagram @thepickery