Anyone who has ever raised a garden or taken care of a lawn knows that weeds are the enemy. Farmers have always waged a bitter war against invasive plants like ragweed, thistle, quack grass, morning glory, pigweed and others. Even with advancements in herbicides, farm equipment and planting techniques, the battle against weeds continues to this day.
Good farmers never allowed a weed to go to seed, not only in their fields and pastures, but along roadways and in ditches as well. This required constant vigilance, and lots of hand-pulling or hoe-chopping. On most farms, kids learned to pull any weeds seen while wandering the farm. Today,
