Is this a weed? YES. PULL IT NOW.

Suddenly, it's 60 degrees outside. After weeks of frost, overnight temperatures in the 30s (and 20s in some Bay Area places - yikes) and daytime highs barely scratching the 50s.

Everyone and everything says YAY.

YAY FOR THAT.

The bummer is that we're not the only ones who noticed the new warm temps.

The weeds are on to us.

Did someone say, "sunshine"? [WEED. PULL IT NOW.]

The garden is, too, which is nice, but if I want to keep the newly-excited-that-it's-warm weeds from taking over the barely-cracking-the-surface garden plants as they shake loose the cold winter soil from their tiny limbs - I better get to weeding.

Sun? YES, PLEASE. (Sweet peas are NOT a weed.)

But what's a weed?

Crab grass IS a weed.

I'm not going to get all philosophical on you, here, so don't worry. Good news is that when it comes to growing vegetables, it's pretty easy to tell what's a weed and what's a food because there's none of that grey area about "Well, that is sort of pretty, so we'll just let it grow and see what it is."

No.

There's no room for "Let's see what it is" when you're growing vegetables. It's either a vegetable, a flower that you planted on purpose or a weed.

And the weeds must go. And some of the flowers if they're getting all WE OWN THIS PLACE on  you.

I'm looking at you, Alyssum.

Dietes seedlings ARE weeds (the little pointed sprouts). PULL THEM NOW.

So, do a little yard reconnaissance this early spring and get out to the vegetable garden and your yard and pull out the not-food and not-purposefully-planted flowers so that they don't turn into huge nutrient-sucking pest habitats, OK?

Just say yes. You'll be glad you did.

Not weeds:

California Poppies

Borage

Alyssum

Mustard

Dill

WEEDS:

Dandelion

Lamb's Quarter

Oxalis (clover)

Purple flowering weed

Crab grass

If you haven't gotten enough here and want to go on a weeding rampage in your garden (we like you so much), more photos of all of the above are on our Pinterest boards.

Good hunting.