Eli5 Why are weeds so hard to kill while desirable plants so hard to keep alive?

Question

Weeds grow, well, like weeds, out of the cracks of the pavement with nothing but municipal runoff to keep them alive. Meanwhile I have to work tirelessly to keep my tomato and pepper plants happy and fruitful. Why do weeds dominate a garden?

In: 61

Answer 1

The definition of a weed is a rapid invader of disturbed habitat. They produce lots of seeds. The seeds stay viable for a long time.The plants grow quickly and are quite rugged. These characteristics make weeds very aggressive growers which are very hardy. They come in first because of these traits when a habitat is disrupted, and as time goes by are replaced by more desirable species. This often takes many years. They are part of the normal progression of plant types in the environment.