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And So It Begins Again…

April 12th, 2014

What? Weeding of course…
weeding 1
weeding 2
My biggest opponent is quack or couch grass. It’s a tenacious foe, but I will come out on top! Last year I battled valiantly and it receded, this year will be the same. Perhaps by next year I will have it eradicated from the potager behind the house and most of the big garden behind the garage.

What’s your most tenacious weed?

15 Comments to “And So It Begins Again…”
  1. kristin @ going country on April 12, 2014 at 6:31 am

    Galinsoga. Evil, evil galinsoga. Tiny white flowers, but it sets millions of seeds before it even flowers, so once it’s there, it’s pretty much impossible to get rid of entirely.

    It’s actually edible, but I’m always too enraged with it to do anything but fling the massive amounts I pull out into the gully.

    Reply to kristin @ going country's comment

    • Robyn Reed on April 15, 2014 at 2:56 pm

      Oh my gosh, so that’s what it’s called! I looked up ‘galinsoga’ and was astonished to see that it’s one of my enemies here in South Africa. Didn’t know it was edible.

      Reply to Robyn Reed's comment

  2. Sara on April 12, 2014 at 7:34 am

    We have some quackgrass too, but our big nemesis is bindweed (or wild morning glory). Very hard to pull or dig (the roots break off) and sinister in how they weave up into plants and inside our stone wall.

    Reply to Sara's comment

  3. Heather on April 12, 2014 at 8:40 am

    Wild garlic/onion. Pops up everywhere. And when pulling or digging it up, I inevitably miss one of the million tiny bulbs and it comes right back for me to wage war on again.

    Reply to Heather's comment

  4. Nebraska Dave on April 12, 2014 at 8:48 am

    Susy, my list of tenacious weeds is never ending. The one I battle the most is bind weed mainly because I’ve given up on quack grass and just let it grow in the back yard. It’s a tough plant and really as long as its green during the summer it’s ok. The kids playing on it can’t kill it, I don’t have to water it and it survives, and it will produce lots of fodder for the composter (if I don’t let it go to seed). If it does go to seed then it goes out in the city yard waste. (Big sigh) Yes there are times it goes to seed. Thigh high quack grass is not a pretty sight. The yards are starting to green up so the mowing routine will begin very soon.

    Have a great eradication of tenacious weeds day.

    Reply to Nebraska Dave's comment

  5. DebbieB on April 12, 2014 at 9:09 am

    Dollar weed. Or as I recently discovered, pennywort. We’ve battled the dollar weed for years and years. Now, I don’t mind the look of it, actually, scattered among our grass, because it looks like little lily pads, but my husband hates the stuff. Fortunately, he’s never resorted to herbicides, just pulled up what he could. Well, I looked it up the other day, and the darned stuff is pennywort – and it’s edible. Who knew? (Everyone but ME, apparently.) So in sweet revenge, I picked a few leaves and doggone if they’re not pretty tasty! If you can’t beat them, EAT them!

    Reply to DebbieB's comment

  6. Misti on April 12, 2014 at 9:15 am

    We’re waging a battle against elm and Virginia creeper seedlings at the moment! I didn’t realize the creeper was such a prolific seeder, but I expected the elm since our neighbor’s tree hangs just over our garden.

    Reply to Misti's comment

  7. Amy on April 12, 2014 at 9:19 am

    Souza grass from my own yard!! Souza is a very aggressive spreader even going under blockades. It is worse for me then any weeds. It is the last lawn in the neighborhood to turn green in the spring, not soft to walk on in bare feet but is very drought resistant.

    Reply to Amy's comment

  8. whit on April 12, 2014 at 10:22 am

    Like NE Dave, our list is long…from invasive that the previous nursery owner planted to common weeds, we’ve got it all. Except bind weed thankfully, which our last house had. This year’s focus is horsetail and scotchbroom. The horsetail has almost completely engulfed the greenhouse beds. Hubbie gets in there and digs down up to his elbows to try to dig out all the roots. At least it helps add a little silicon to the soil.

    Reply to whit's comment

  9. Joan on April 12, 2014 at 11:47 am

    Quackgrass and sowthistle in my garden but these I can deal with. The wild sorrel is a pain, but I pull some and eat some so it has it’s advantages.

    What really gets me are the non-native invasives in our wild areas (and these will truly ruin the wild areas if left to grow…) – Oriental bittersweet, multiflora rose, Japanese honeysuckle, garlic mustard, Japanese knotweed… I spend huge amounts of time fighting these and just barely manage to keep them from spreading. The weeds in my garden are nothing compared to these.

    Reply to Joan's comment

  10. Mrs. H on April 12, 2014 at 4:39 pm

    Back home in Kansas, crab grass was my greatest weed foe. Up here in MI, I’ve gardened only one season (this year is season #2 for me), and did not have a terrible time with weeds. That could be because my garden plot is small…only 7×12 feet.

    Reply to Mrs. H's comment

  11. Andrea Cole on April 13, 2014 at 3:03 am

    I am still waiting for the last of the snow to melt before I can even think of weeds..:(.

    Reply to Andrea Cole's comment

  12. Caroline on April 14, 2014 at 1:33 am

    I’m no good with naming plants, but I have an infestation of either Creeping Charlie, Mint or BOTH!

    I spent some time a few days ago pulling it out of the worst part of the garden, though the grass next to the garden is still covered so I know it’s going to be a battle. I may end up removing most of the grass in my battle against this foe. Oh well, we need to lay new grass seed anyway!

    Reply to Caroline's comment

  13. Ilene on April 14, 2014 at 9:16 am

    Bermuda Grass and Bindweed here. An unbeatable combination.

    Reply to Ilene's comment

  14. Marcia on April 14, 2014 at 2:50 pm

    Purslane. I’ve decided to accept it. It acts like a nice ground cover and will not harm the plants if they are established enough. It is also edible.

    Reply to Marcia's comment

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This is a daily journal of my efforts to cultivate a more simple life, through local eating, gardening and so many other things. We used to live in a small suburban neighborhood Ohio but moved to 153 acres in Liberty, Maine in 2012.

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