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Hated weeds!

I'm sure different parts of the world have different weeds.

For me, the worst are:

Variegated - someone planted it there, then it decided to take over the earth.

Nonvariegated - probably reverted from variegated, and even more aggressive.

Bishopweed, also called Goutweed (Aegopodium podagraria); It's sold as an ornamental. It has brittle underground stems, so when you pull it up, it leaves multiple nodes to sprout underground. I''ve been trying to clear it out for 9 years, and it just keeps spreading. This is the most frustrating invasive in my yard.

Canadian Thistle: Not really that invasive, but it's painful to pull out, so I put it off, Then they grow too big.

Himalayan Blackberry: Around here, it's like kudzu with attitude!. Seems like you've got it all pulld out, then the next week you ahve 6 ft, very thorny stems. Ouch ouch damn damn. The up side is that if you miss it until it bears fruit, they are SO good!

English Ivy: Even roundup doesn't kill it. Not that I use roundup, but I tried a few years ago. It just made the leaves shinier.

Apparently, you can eat Bishopweed in salads. I just pull it out and feed it to the chickens, they love it almost as much as they love dandelions. That makes it less like doing a hated chore, pulling out weeds, and more like foraging.

We also have weeds that I don't know the names for. One that I learned is StickyWeed (Galium aparine). I had no idea what it was called. It isn't as invasive as some of the others, and the succulent stems and leaves are another treat for the chickens. The leaves and stems have tiny velcro-like surfaces and stick to clothes and each other. I did a search on it, thinking this is a sticky weed, and it turns out that the common name is stick weed.

I think one might be Gallant Soldier (Galinsoga parviflora) - it looks like this. It's extremely prolific, comes on with compost, but is relatively easy to pull up. Another chicken favorite (There is a trend here)

Interestingly, a lot of weeds are apparently edible. I haven't tried them. Dandelions, lambsquarters, and according to some web sites, bishopweed and stickyweed.

We also have some weeds that I don't mind, like dandelions (a chicken favorite). Also, semi-invasives like parsley and cilantro, that I let go to seed and now come up all over the place. Which we then eat. And some that I should mind, but dont, like mints. They are invasive, but I like the smell when I pull them up. The chickens dont eat the mint. They don't eat lemon balm either, but I like to pull it out and spread in on the grass before mowing. Smells very nice.

Side note: google search on weeds turns up a lot of info on marijuana. Strange thing is, people aren't trying to eradicate it, they are trying to grow it. Imagine that! No idea whether chickens will like it.

Tags: weeds

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Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Gaylene Wetzel on May 9, 2010 at 1:36pm

Any ideas on quackgrass?? The blasted stuff is all over my yard!

Permalink Reply by Sentient Biped on May 10, 2010 at 8:13am

Bearcat,

I do like weeds that pull up easily.

Violets probably count as weeds among the pure-lawn-grass enthusiasts. I like violets enough that, when I find them in an inconvenient place, I move them to a border where they spread and keep out more noxious weeds.

A coworker gave be starts of her ground cover. She didnt know what it was called, but stated it stayed small and had little attractive flowers. I planted them carefully, then the next year they were everywhere, and don't stay so small. It was garlic mustard.

Permalink Reply by Little Name Atheist on May 13, 2010 at 11:08am

OMG! Garlic mustard is on the invasive plant no no list here in Vermont. I think if you yank it before it sets seed, you can eventually get rid of it.

I'll dig out my notes about how to permanently get rid of the noxious invasives. There were some good tips on how to get rid of all sorts of things.

Permalink Reply by Sentient Biped on May 13, 2010 at 12:34pm

I am doing my best to keep this weed out, now that I introduced it into my own yard. It's a lot like the person who provided it, actually - first coming on nice and inobtrusive, then into everything and everywhere, and leaving me to ask myself, "what have I done".

Permalink Reply by Little Name Atheist on May 21, 2010 at 2:49pm

Heh. The Nature Conservancy in Vermont sponsors garlic mustard pulling sessions in certain areas. Thankfully, I don't have it.

Have almost excavated enough to find my invasives notes.

Permalink Reply by Little Name Atheist on May 13, 2010 at 11:12am

I have eaten purslane in salad. I like it, but don't have any around here.

Permalink Reply by Jaume on May 9, 2010 at 5:38pm

Bamboos! That's my nightmare. My dad planted some in a corner 'cause he thought they were cute, but the roots grew under a wall and a pavement, and now the garden is full of them. Every year I have to remove heaps of bamboo roots from the ground. I buried thick plastic sheets a meter deep to contain them, to no avail. They can even find their way through concrete.

Permalink Reply by Little Name Atheist on May 13, 2010 at 11:11am

I keep hearing horror stories like this about bamboo. My -tater wants to plant some because he likes the idea of growing our own plant stakes. Did you read Daniel's bit about planting bamboo?

Permalink Reply by Little Name Atheist on May 13, 2010 at 11:17am

I've heard that vinegar poured on thistle works. I'm experimenting to find out for myself.

Permalink Reply by Sentient Biped on May 15, 2010 at 7:53pm

We'll need to check - maybe pansys are edible.

I don't mind chickeweed, I feed it to the chickens. It doesn't seem right to feed them quackgrass, but I don't have any ducks.

Chickens like eating slugs, too.

I'll have to tell my neighbors mine is cottage style, it's not weedy.

I'lll have to look up grass prickle and wondering dew. I don't know those. I think a lot of weeds in the pacific Northwest are imports from UK and Europe, I imagine that's true in NZ as well.

Permalink Reply by Sentient Biped on May 15, 2010 at 11:14pm

Nice article you linked to about prickles, Orange:

"‘Well, there weren’t prickles at the beginning when God first made the world,’ Nan replied. It was only after Adam and Eve disobeyed God and did their own thing that God placed a curse on the earth. Prickles are part of the curse, and they remind us about the consequences of sin. But one day God will make a new earth where that curse will be removed. Then there will be no more prickles.’ (Genesis 3: 17–19, Revelation 22:3)

So they were put there to hurt little children's feet 6000 years after Adam discovered that Eve had something interesting to look at naked, in the garden of Eden.

You must not get any frost! Cool! I think that would kill the wandering dew plants.

Permalink Reply by Little Name Atheist on May 21, 2010 at 2:55pm

Wondering Willie/Wandering Jew/Tradescantia varieties are sold in the northern US as houseplants.

Prickles are part of the curse, and they remind us about the consequences of sin.

What a horrible way to live, always feeling guilty and in fear!