I've been wondering about this for a while, ever since I saw thimble berry bushes for sale. @Daniel W posted about his weeds, which made me laugh and wonder about others. My most troublesome to remove and keep away are Mare's Tail, Thimble Berries, Wild Raspberries, Quack Grass, Pig Weed , Daisies ( although I love them they are everywhere and very invasive) , Oregan Grapes and stinging nettle. Funny how many of these I could eat or make tea out of...but they want to encroach on what I really want to eat. What are your weeds that you fight with the most? Or that you would trade off for another if you could?
Himalayan Blackberry - funny name for a plant that originated in Eastern Europe. I read these were Luther Burbank introduction. The berries are good but new varieties are much better. They grow up to 12 feet tall, sometimes growing a foot a day. Blood dripping from scratches when dealing with it. Spread very fast and pop up everywhere. Goutweed - spread through underground runners. Very invasive. the one cure is chickens destroy it. You can still buy it at nurseries. Johhnson Grass - very tough and fast growing, very big. Stickyweed - Galium alparine - quickly grows to 3 or 4 feet tall, like velcro sticks to everything. Canadian Thistle - grows rapidly from stolons a foot deep- spreads like crazy. Thorny stems and leaves scratch and draw blood. Tansy Ragwort - a liver toxin plant imported from UK. They can be a challenge to dig out and I wind up spraying them. Not as invasive as the others above. The state introduced an insect that specifically eats them - cinnabar moth. I hope that eradicates them. I don't mind things that pop up and grow other places - Shirley poppies and four o'clocks do that. I actually spread clover seeds, they look nice and bees love them even though neighbors don't.
Ground elder! And milkweed, but the ground elder is the worst of the two. Dandelions too, almost forgot about those. I spotted some mare's tails by the rock wall, and will have to deal with those before they become a real problem. I also weed out primroses and columbines. I like them a lot, but not everywhere.
I ate my first blackberry seven years ago at my daughters White Coat Ceremony down in Oregon. I've never tasted anything so lovely. I've always wanted to grow them but cannot. After seeing them on your list perhaps this is a good thing.
These @##%@ marestail are my greatest nemisis in the asparagus. Right now it looks like a mare's tail patch. They don't seem to care about mulch either. I wish I knew a way besides yanking them out and swearing at them to get rid of them.
Just buy tame blackberries ! Not a problem with them ! However the wild ones can be mowed to the ground early in the season and they will produce a ton of berries about June here ! Then mow again in the fall ! Kind of keeps them under control !
Cleavers, stinging nettles,docks and dandelions, there's another one but don't know the name. Cleavers are the worst they can grow so fast because they're a annual and climbs up other plants and sticks to the person trying to get rid of it and the seeds.
Bindweed! It is the bane of my existence here in my vegetable garden! I'd been fighting it for years when I decided to put in raised beds. Lined them thickly with cardboard, and then filled with leaves, compost and soil. Guess what popped up in every single raised bed the following year? You guessed it, bindweed! Fast forward a few years to the construction of my greenhouse - hubby leveled some patio stones and then laid 3 inch beams across them for the floor. Guess what grew through the floor this spring
But Netts, don’t you put “root cloth” under your greenhouse and raised beds? That is what root cloth is made for. It lets water permeate through, but prevents weeds from coming up through it. I use this stuff under my wood chip paths. Well, I feel you you. Bindweed is an awful and persistent adversary. My three nightmare weeds are: bindweed, ground elder and mare’s tail. Keeping these contained is simply a part of my gardening season. I can’t beat ‘em, but I sure as heck ain’t gonna join ‘em….I just pull ‘em. Of course there are countless other, smaller weeds that pop-up, but I can just schoffel them away.
Formal apology to the Mare's Tail in the asparagus patch. It caught the frost last night instead of the asparagus - actually sheltered them. I knew I was avoiding weeding the asparagus for a reason. No more swearies for the mare's tail.
Sorry, @Melody Mc., but I fear they'll be back with a vengeance since the roots probably didn't take any damage.
Alas you are right Droopy. And what the root system. It's like a big darn fan underground with these tiny little hairs. I've covered the stuff with black plastic, only to have it there underneath trying to grow. I don't mind things like quack grass and pigsweed as much....at least their roots are honest and not sneaky. My daughter sent me this yesterday.
Without doubt it is virginia buttonweed followed by speedwell, violets and a number of grasses. Elders grow slow enough I can pull them when small.
Every year we fight different weeds. This year we are fighting poison ivy. Well, we have for years but the plants were so large you couldn't miss them. This year we decided, if they flower, they had a good seed bearing year. We have had hundreds of tiny weenie, plantlets pop up all over the place. The leaves are less than 1/4 of an inch. You would never know what they are but I DO.......when we find it we get rid of it quickly. NIP THAT STUFF IN THE BUD.........
