Weeds: which ones are most troublesome for you?

[k15n1]

We have common pig weed (maranthus hybridus), and purslane in particular.

 

[Denim Deb]

Odd_duck99, sounds like you had some kind of thistle. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thistle That's one plant I have mixed feelings about. Because it's a "weed", I don't like it. But, goldfinches love the seeds and I like to see them, so I like it.

 

[so lucky]

That spiny pigweed sounds like what is coming up in a corner of my chicken yard. I'd better chop it off before it goes to seed. We have a lot of purslane here. I have read that chickens love it. Well, mine don't. At least they didn't, but some was growing in their yard, and I noticed today that every leaf is bitten off the little bush that it made. Maybe if they get a taste for it, they will be more welcome in the flower beds.

 

[Denim Deb]

If you're going to chop it, you need to be very aggressive w/it. Don't leave a leaf on it. Depending on how much there is, it might be better to put on a pair of leather gloves and pull it out. Then, keep an eye on the area and everytime you see any coming up, pull it out.

 

[Mickey328]

Here it's bindweed and goat head. Ugh! The chickens will eat the leaves off the bindweed, but not the vine. They won't have a thing to do with goat head, though...which is a bummer. I'm in a quandary with it...I really don't like using chemicals but this stuff is tenacious! It's also traveled...we used to have it only in the cracks in the driveway and in the rocked area next to it. Evidently we've carried seeds on our shoes because it's now in the front and back yards.

 

[Denim Deb]

I had to look up goats head cuz I'd never heard of it B4. I'm glad I don't have any around here!

As to getting rid of it, this is what one site said.

Where this is a non-indigenous species, eradication methods are often sought after. There are both biological and herbicidal solutions to the problem, but neither of them provide a solution which is both quick and long-lasting, because T. terrestris seeds remain viable for up to 37 years on average.

In smaller areas, puncture vine is best controlled with manual removal using a hoe to cut the plant off at its taproot. While this is effective, removing the entire plant by gripping the taproot, stem or trunk and pulling upward to remove the taproot is far more effective. This requires monitoring the area and removing the weed throughout the preseeding time (late spring and early summer in many temperate areas). This will greatly reduce the prevalence of the weed the following year. Mowing is not an effective method of eradication, because the plant grows flat against the ground.

Another avenue of physical eradication is to crowd out the opportunistic weed by providing good competition from favorable plants. Aerating compacted sites and planting competitive desirable plants including broad-leaved grasses such as St Augustine can reduce the impact of puncture vine by reducing resources available to the weed.

 

[Hinotori]

Growing up I had to dig so many puncture vines out. We'd usually find them when I stepped on one (I was barefoot as much as possible). Mom would get the garden fork out and loosen the soil, and I'd be digging around it by hand. Then we would be trying to get get every bit out. Had to do the same up at Grandmas. Lucky that the soil is loose and sandy in that region. We had to have the puncture resistant plastic strips in our bike tires or the inner tube would be destroyed. I got a planters wart that started where I stepped on one once that had to be cut out.

Sandburs are bad as well because the spines, while tiny in comparison, are all over and break off when you try and pry them out of your skin. We also dug those out.

Takes lots of work and keeping up on it. And picking up every single one you find so they don't grow. I agree with you that the goat heads really suck.

 

[Mickey328]

Unfortunately our soil is about 90% clay so it's really hard digging, and when you pull you just barely break it off at the soil line. Those things are obnoxious...the spines will go right through a bike tire! Sure wish the chickens would eat 'em, LOL They will eat the leaves of bindweed, but not the stem...so at least I can pull that and dump it in the run for them

 

[Denim Deb]

Yuck! That sounds horrible. Is it any better to dig when it's damp out?

 

[Mickey328]

Somewhat. When it's dry the stuff's like concrete, and when it's wet it's heavy and gooey...can hardly knock the stuff off the shovel. We put in a few trees a couple years ago and rented a power auger for the digging. Dave was out working on them and I was doing something in the kitchen. I glanced out the window and nearly plotzed! The auger blade was quite stationary in the ground and the machine, with Dave laying over it, was spinning in circles! Now Dave is a good sized feller (6'1 about 240 lbs) so it was really quite hilarious...to me

We've been working on soil conditioning for several years and in many areas it's coming along nicely...you can pull stuff and it comes out nicely. But the dang goat head seems to prefer the crappy soil, probably why it's so prolific here. Reckon it's like housework...never done, cuz once you finish one thing you have to start on the next and when that's done you have to re-do the other, LOL We did find a used Mantis tiller for a great price so that's going to be put to a LOT of use this fall. Wish we had more compost, but now that we have the chickens, I'm thinking our production will increase. Once the garden's done, I'll turn 'em loose in there to turn it over and fertilize it, that'll help. Plus, we got a bunch of rabbit poo earlier that we'll be mixing in. We really lucked out and found a lady right in town who often posts on Craig's List...all we have to do is go fetch it.