Good gardeners know the importance of spending the time necessary to weed out unwanted, problematic growth.

Weeding a garden is work, and it means getting one’s hands dirty.

For a number of years, the City of Natchez has been lax in its follow through on eliminating blighted, unkempt property.

City leaders have been quick to identify the “weeds” of dilapidated buildings that need to be removed.

They’ve made lots of lists and talked about the problem. But until this point, they’ve struggled to take hold of the weeds and yank them out.

Earlier this week, the Natchez Board of Aldermen took a step in the right direction. The board declared 22 dilapidated properties as eligible for demolition. Their decision moved the effort to circuit court, where the issue must be approved before the demolition can take place.

The city probably has at least 100 properties that need to be considered for demolition. But working with 22 is a good start.

For the city, time is money, and city leaders have already begun to worry about the amount of funds needed to tear down the properties.

The city managed to tear down the former Natchez Pecan Factory building in the better part of a morning. Couldn’t we weed out a few of the 22 houses in a day or two’s time frame?

The bottom line is that the dilapidated properties need to come down quickly, before they ruin the good crops surrounding them.