Hi all, I plan to keep certain weeds in my vegetable garden to help keep the soil healthy and retain moisture. This looks like it might be a keeper as long as it doesn't choke out my plants or attract pests. What is it? Common name is good, scientific name is preferable. I am looking to keep ground cover weeds in particular. The leaves and stems are fuzzy. Thanks.
For anyone else stumped by this, I found out that it is mouse-ear chickweed, scientific name Cerastium fontanum. Apparently, I have both common and mouse-ear chickweeds in my garden. Both, I think, are beneficial in their own way. The common, I'll let grow in the beds for moisture retention and foraging, as they are edible and have medicinal properties as well. The mouse-ear, I'll let grow in the pathways around the beds for mud prevention. It is a nice mat-forming weed.
I was going to suggest mouse eared chickweed, but you are just too quick for me! It can spread rather quickly, so I dont know that its something you want to keep.
That stuff and regular chickweed grow here. It is a hardy weed and provides lots of food for the chickens in winter.
