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soeur_gw

Weed Awards

Soeur
18 years ago

Every year I swear I'll stay on top of the weeds. And every year I end up doing a massive weeding extravaganza to beat back the buggers that threaten to overwhelm everything I *want* to grow. The recent big dose of rain from TS Arlene put all plants on overdrive at my place. I think the most accurate definition of "weed" isn't "the wrong plant in the wrong place", but "the undesired plant that always grows at least twice as fast as the desired plant".

So today, as I pulled up the 10,759,671 Pennsylvania Smartweeds that were thriving out in the 1/2 acre vegetable garden, I amused myself by having a mental "Awards Show" for weeds. And the winners are:

Most Prolific and Difficult to Eradicate (Vegetable Garden): that dadgum Smartweed.

Most Prolific and Difficult to Eradicate (Shade): Microstegium, the new scourge of the South.

Most Persistent and Difficult to Eradicate (Tree): Koelreuteria (Golden Raintree) -- plant one at your peril, you'll be digging up the offspring forever

Most Difficult to Pull Up, Requiring Manmuscle or Metal Implements: Dock, with a taproot to China.

Most Likely to Make Me Cuss: Spiny Amaranth, hiding in a bunch of other weeds so I don't see it when I grab 'em. Runnerup is blackberry.

Most Likely to Survive a Nuclear Holocaaust Along with the Cockroaches: Wintercreeper, which takes at least five hits of Tordon or 2,4-D to kill.

I figure can't be the only one yanking weeds, unless you all are way better at keeping them at bay than I am. I'd love to know what your worst weeds are. Feel free to add categories according to what you're battling :).

Marty

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