is weeding necessary?

[grawrc]

Weeding is a fun pastime.  :P

Do it for the pleasure, and just think of all that lovely compost material.

Yes I agree. I reckon I do more weeding than anything else at this time of year.

[grawrc]

[davyw1]

Hoeing your soil allows allows it to breath but weeds are hosts and carry disease, Shepherds Purse carries club-root, Chick Weed hosts cucumber mosaic virus, red spider mite,and white fly, Groundsel hosts rust and black rot.

[Digeroo]

I can remember hearing that touching the weeds also imparts chemicals onto the hands and this helps to keep gardeners healthy.  

I certainly have a lot to do.  Things got out of hand while I was on holiday it is amazing just how quickly they can take over.  The rain has triggered millions of germinations it is incredible just how fast they can appear.

[artichoke]

I pull up weeds from elsewhere and drop them in among the potatoes as a mulch, instead of earthing up. When you dig up the potatoes, you dig in the mulch, which I believe is  A Good Thing.

[goodlife]

Of course there is place for weeding..and yes they can carry diseases...but there is not need to be clinical with weeding..or clearing it all away.. when I do so I leave them in small piles along the gaps on soil..they will soon 'rot' off and return back the goodness they've taken up in first place.
I have very good soil (even I say so myself) and I find that some amount of weeds that are kept in check and not allowed to over take the crops do not compete with moisture.. totally opposite ..if the soil is not left bare it will not cap for start with..and the lack of moisture is not problem neither...if the soil is allowed to cap..yes it will prevent evaporation but the soil is not 'breathing' neither and if any rain comes..it will take long time to penetrate before reaching the root levels...to me that is soil in sad state..and often short of beneficial life..
Around here I see more and more farmers returning into old farming practises..not leaving soil bare...I see whole fields covered with straw and/or manure....or having gap years by keeping pigs..and the colour of the soil has changed in only few years from reddish-sand to nice brown...it is pleasure to drive by... ;D..and that is what I'm aiming for..keeping the 'soil' busy...My 2 lotties are quarter of an acre together and doing it 'conventional' way would be so labour intensive that I could not possible do it...

[cleo]

I`m not lazy-just getting older.

I put my spuds in with slightly wider spacing than usual this year.

Weeds?-run the rotavator up and down a couple of times and the soil is ready to earth up