Sheila Batturs, age 12, of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, for her question:

Why do weeds grow so fast?

The weeds that grow in your neighborhood are at home. They are wild plants, and their ancestors have lived right there for ages. Year by year they have grown used to the soil and the weather of the changing seasons. They thrive because they are suited to their surroundings. As a rule, the wild plants have only a few months of friendly weather, and they must make the best of this growing season. Often their seeds have only two or three months to sprout, grow to their full size, produce blossoms and seeds for the next generations. The weeds that cannot grow fast enough to keep up with the seasons fail to survive. They produce no seeds and you do not find them growing in your neighborhood.

A few weed seeds always manage to invade our gardens. Here they share the pam¬pered lives of our favorite plants and flowers. They relish the richer soil and enjoy the extra water we sprinkle around during the dry weather. Naturally, weeds that managed to survive the hardships of the wilds do even better in a garden. They thrive better end grow faster than our cultivated plants that must be pampered with so much tender care.