In my semi-naturalized garden I get a lot of volunteer plants- mostly sunflowers, borage and mustard greens since these are prolific at producing seeds. I let a fair number of plants grow, especially in the spring and early summer, and use them for green mulch. Now my intended plants (vegetables) are well established and I struggle with balancing their growth with my "volunteers".
I know onions don't like competition and my volunteer zucchini's and sunflowers are certainly shading out my tomatoes. Still, I find it difficult to cut down a strong sunflower. Removing zucchini plants, even if they are growing in a less than ideal place, makes me feel like I'm gambling and betting harder on a risky outcome of tomatoes versus more certain but less desirable zucchini.
Do others struggle with these choices? What are your perspectives?
-RNK
