My heart is broken from this weed

[frankieweed]

Hi I am new to the forum, I have a small vegetable garden, and for the past number of years the soil has been infested
by this weed, if it is broken or snapped it sprouts a both ends and makes it worse.
I am in Ireland.

Can anyone identify the weed and suggest a solution of how to get rid of it.

 

[frankieweed]

 

[journey11]

frankieweed!

Now that's one creepy looking weed!

I'm not familiar with it, probably not something that grows in my area. It looks like it spreads by rhizomes, so I can see where you're having the trouble. We've got something called quackgrass here that can make a gardener cry too...spreads by rhizomes too, traveling underneath the ground and popping up everywhere.

The only defense I've found against the quackgrass is one of two things... Solarize the soil in the heat of summer--dampen the ground then cover it tightly with clear plastic to raise the soil temp, hopefully enough to bake the offending weed (or seeds) and kill it.

Or--station very destructive farm animal(s) over top of the garden spot, fencing them in and letting them totally tear up the spot, effectively killing every growing thing within the fenced area. Poultry do a good job--I've used Cornish X meat birds. I hear pigs are also good for prepping a garden spot.

Good luck!

 

[frankieweed]

Hi thanks for your reply, on another forum someone suggested ground-elder, but my father having read up on this thinks that it doesn't fit the description.

It does sound similar to quackgrass as it also shoots up and travels everywhere underground! Would the animal tramping solution work seen as it is so prominent below the surface?

 

[patandchickens]

Well, it isn't ground-elder.

That's about the sum total of my useful input on I.D. though If it were North American I'd almost wonder if it were a goldenrod but I don't think you folks have wild goldenrod and in any case it doesn't look quite right for it.

As far as solving the problem: my hope would be that this is not "so" bad an infestation and you can continue to live with it on the basis you've been for the past few years, i.e. it is a mexican standoff between your rate of weeding and the weed's rate of regrowth. If you can go in one or more times per season and really root out as much as possible, as deeply and thoroughly as possible (e.g. with a fishtail weeder or garden fork), that will help you keep the upper hand.

If that is not the case, if you are losing the battle despite your very best efforts, then truthfully you sort of have three options:

One, you can give up and learn to be a brilliant container gardener. (Seriously.)

Two, you can cover the entire area (and as much surrounding area as can be sacrificed, as well) with heavy heavy plastic and/or carpeting or pavers (with mulch on top if you wish) for at least 3-5 years, ideally also digging an 18" trench around the smothered area and burying steel or aluminum flashing as a root barrier. During those 3-5+ years, hone your container gardening skills. At the end of that period, remove the plastic or carpeting and hope the stuff is all gone and doesn't reinvade under the root barrier (at least not more than you can notice and pull).

Three, you can take a week off work and dig up the entire area very very carefully with a fork (not spade) and hand-sift the dirt, removing all traces of any roots of anything. Put 18" deep aluminum flashing all around the area when you're done, as a root barrier, and hope you got it all and it doesn't reinvade.

If options two or three fail, go back to option one.

Sorry to be grim, but these brittle-rooted rhizomatous things can be that serious of a pest. If the area isn't too badly infested (and the SURROUNDING area isn't much infested either) then you CAN get them under control by the above means, I've done it. However in some cases there is just too much there, or too much in the surrounding area that recolonizes as fast as you can clear the garden. Honestly, you can grow quite a lot in containers

Good luck, "have fun" ,

Pat

 

[journey11]

I don't know about the depth on your weed, but the quackgrass usually runs about 3" under the surface. Besides the trodding and general destruction, I think maybe the fresh manure also helps to kill things off.

 

[patandchickens]

I don't know about the depth on your weed, but the quackgrass usually runs about 3" under the surface. Besides the trodding and general destruction, I think maybe the fresh manure also helps to kill things off.

Wow, you're lucky -- our quackgrass often has roots down a foot or more, and intensive chickening does not seem to kill it off (although they do eat the sprouts as soon as they come up in the run).

Wanna trade quackgrass? LOL

Pat

 

[wifezilla]

In Colorado we have some pretty nasty invasive weeds. Bindweed and some ground ivy that produces tire puncturing stickers are the two worst.

Weeding, herbicides, torching...tried them all.

The only two things that have worked for me are 1) Ruth Stout mulching the bajesus out of everything method and 2) owning ducks.

Ducks think bindweed is tasty. It isn't their first choice for a snack, but they will nibble them to death once they eat all the dandelions and any garden crops you were foolish enough not to protect.

The Ruth Stout method relies on thick layers of mulch and the ducks help there too. They give me plenty of mucky straw bedding to use for mulch.

I do a lot less weeding these days. I am not saying there are no weeds, but compared to previous, it's pretty much nothing now.