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Vegetable Gardening

Invading my potato bin - does anyone know what this is?

15 years ago

I've had 2 varieties of potatoes coming up in a grow-as-you-go bin, and one has been very sluggish to appear. I was excited when shoots finally came up through the ground two days ago. Then a bunch more shoots than I expected appeared, and then I realized they weren't potatoes. They were some kind of monster weed that punched through a layer of corrugated cardboard and 6 inches of mixed compost, peat moss and topsoil.

I'm now curious what they are - here is one of the invaders himself, as well as a few of his cousins nearby (the leaves are the same) Does anyone know what this is?

{{gwi:56981}}

{{gwi:56982}}

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Comments (9)

murkwell
15 years ago
If you tear it does it smell like parsely?

Here is a link that might be useful: parsely
jimster
15 years ago
Could be parsley. It also resembles parsnip, wild parsnip and poison hemlock. Have you planted or grown parsley or parsnips? If not, it must be a wild plant.

Jim

Here is a link that might be useful: Wild Parsnip and Poison Hemlock
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queuetue
Original Author
15 years ago
I'm new to this location, so I don't know what was grown here - it's been more than 10 years since anyone even had a garden - it's all been lawned over.

No, it doesn't smell like parsley. I suppose it'll remain a mystery - hopefully one that doesn't trash the rest of my garden. :)
denninmi
15 years ago
Nope, definitely NOT parsley.

To me, it looks like some kind of buttercup (Ranunculus). There are a lot of weedy species of buttercups which can be very invasive.

If I were you, I would nip it in the bud ASAP. If your potatoes haven't yet sprouted, spray it with Roundup or similar, or cover it over with black plastic, cardboard, etc, and make just small holes, which you can weed by hand, for the potatoes to grow through.
jimster
15 years ago
Buttercup is another good possibility. It's hard to tell from the pic. I've battled buttercup. The stuff is VERY hardy.

Jim
sinfonian
15 years ago
I've got it and more too, but thankfully it hasn't made it through my landscape fabric (yet). Just all around the bin.

Good luck controlling it!

Here is a link that might be useful: Sinfonian's garden adventure!
jimster
15 years ago
Having given it more thought, I have to agree that it is most likely buttercup. It has that appearance and is the most likely one to be growing in that location. It's a tough plant.

Jim
tcstoehr
15 years ago
Yup, a buttercup. Very pretty but very tough.
queuetue
Original Author
15 years ago
Thanks. I'd never think of a buttercup as tough, but I suppose I've seen many of them, and I've never heard of anyone growing them on purpose, so it must be pretty good at fighting for it's turf.

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