Weeds and What They Tell

by Ehrenfried E. Pfeiffer

This wonderful little book covers everything you need to know about the types of plants known as weeds. Ehrenfried Pfeiffer discusses the different varieties of weeds, how they grow and what they can tell us about soil health. The process of combating weeds is discussed in principle as well as in practice, so that it can be applied to any situation. First written in the 1950s, this is still one of the best overviews of the subject available.

Genres: Gardening, Nonfiction

80 pages, Paperback

First published December 1, 1970

Reviews

[Jaymes Dunlap · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed the book, as it introduces soil types (mineral composition, etc), soil moisture, weed preferences, and how to cultivate, control, or eradicate certain "weeds." Folk, historical, and current uses for certain plants deemed "weeds" were also noted throughout.

Found the book extremely informative, but probably best to use in tandem with a book that is much more visual. I knew a few of these weeds and grew up around them. Knowing what others were, where they grow, etc. would have made this book more enriching. Being inexperienced in the correlations, I found it helpful to myself as a starting, semi-informed amateur to the subject.

It felt at times as though this book was sometimes jumbled and even conflicting with a sub-message of "war on weeds,", but this may have served as a practical hook in the 1950's (original publication period) to keep readers invested.

[Ashley · Rating 2 out of 5]

Many inaccuracies - outdated and misinformed, in some cases.

[Liz · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've had this book on my gardening reference shelf for many years. It is not the world's best-organized book, nor the most thorough, but it is a good book to consult when you are first researching a new weed's presence in your garden/farm. It is especially good at covering certain weeds and certain weed families, particularly many of the most common ones. It is helpful to already know what weed or weed family you are looking up before looking in this book, so if you don't already have a good grasp of plant identification, I would recommend an illustrated guidebook to common weeds to place beside this book on your shelf.

[Joseph Monroe]

If you are interested in weeds, this is a good starting point. I learned many useful things about soil ph levels, drainage, humus formation, and health of pastures and hilly areas through Pfeiffer overview of weeds. This is for the person who needs practical information about plants, if it is not relevant to a farmer/landowner the author has cut out the scientific crap not needed for the common reader. Making this the quickest and easiest introduction to weeds.