Sticky Weed Identification - Worst Weed Ever (well, almost)

[Nifty]

It is the Galium aparine (aka: Cleavers, Clivers, Goosegrass, Stickywilly, Stickyweed, Catchweed, Robin-run-the-hedge and Coachweed)

It is in the front of our house where I treated it very strongly last year. There are areas in the far backyard where I believe it is growing wild, but I doubt any new seeds were carried from the backyard to the front.

 

[Greensage45]

Sadly 'Round-up' will kill the World before it ever eradicates weeds.

I am afraid the only solution is to get out there and start pulling. Winter is the prime time when weed seeds want to take hold for us folks in milder climates, so the identification should be easy.

You could use a black plastic cover to cause them to fail. Just move the cover every few feet over a week at a time, by January you might have a hold on these.

A torch would be nice. One of those propane torches that you drag around. Then you can burn away the new seedlings before they start getting too big--be careful!

If it is a smaller area and there is nothing else there you want growing you could use boiling water--be careful!

Some have attacked weeds with Vinegar. The weeds with a central tap root like Mustard will die on the surface, but the root continues to resprout. I don't think your weed is like that though so it might be worth the try. At least this option is cheap and vinegar is typical of a household product!

Isn't this why people have kids? LOL, for weeding! At least my parents thought so.

Ron

 

[beefy]

true, your size family is perfect for weeding. and at your kids ages "weeding is fun!"

several sheets of damp newspaper with lots of mulch on top is another one that works well that Ron neglected to mention. tisk tisk.

yay for biodegradable.

 

[digitS']

What are you trying to grow instead of the Galium weeds, Nifty? Maybe I missed the answer to that in earlier posts.

The neighbor has some bedstraw growing amongst his raspberries. It creeps out as does the raspberry plants and they try to invade my smaller veggie garden. It isn't a terrible problem but I sure don't like it. Nevertheless, I'm not going into his raspberries to weed out the bedstraw.

What I imagine is that I disrupt the bedstraw's plan to invade the veggie garden by running the tiller on the outside of the garden repeatedly thru the growing season. Then I whack at it with the weed whacker. If I stopped doing this - out it would come but so would the raspberries, quackgrass, dandelions, bindweed, etc.

Laying the ground bare just results in the bedstraw seed sprouting and growing again. Cultivating, cultivating, cultivating . . . or, planting something that would compete with the bedstraw may well suppress it. Probably lawn grass sod would crowd out that weed. Just guessing . . . .

Steve

 

[beefy]

with alot of weeds there is a seedbank lying dormant in the ground waiting for the soil to be disturbed giving them an opportunity to sprout. this could be the case?

 

[cwhit590]

with alot of weeds there is a seedbank lying dormant in the ground waiting for the soil to be disturbed giving them an opportunity to sprout. this could be the case?

Good point.

Nifty, if you treated the plants last year, and they are still coming up, I would think it's the whole seedbank thing like beefy said....

Sounds like you aren't opposed to using chemical means....have you tried something like Preen? It's a chemical that prevents seeds from germinating, and keeps the weeds at bay for a while. It's a granule that you sprinkle on the ground and water in. It may be something to consider...but you would want to be careful w/ the kids and the chickens especially (the granules look like birdseed!).

I would rather not use chemicals to keep weeds under control, personally, but....sometimes it's just the best option, especially when you are just starting to tackle a severe infestation.

 

[Lavender2]

I'm pretty much on the lookout for any new sprouts every day.

This only propagates via seed, right? Anybody know how long the seeds are viable in the ground?

Galium seeds remain viable in the ground for 2-3 years, a few will make it to 5. The stickiness of the plant is possibly helping spread the seed around also... by critters and insects that come in contact with the seed heads.
The seed needs dark to germinate, so a barrier and mulch would need to be thick enough to keep seedlings from getting to sunlight.

I use the weapon that beefy suggested, newspaper and lots of leaf mold mulch.
Unfortunately my kids figured out the 'weeding is fun' thing... :/

 

[journey11]

Depending on how large an area is affected, you might want to try covering it with black plastic when the weather warms up and leave it on until everything is brown and DEAD. I was able to annihilate quackgrass in my new strawberry plot with this method. I took the plastic off in August and nothing has come up there yet, no grass or weeds of any kind, even after tilling.

 

[Nifty]

Thanks for the comments and suggestions everybody!!!

Steve, to answer your question: we're not necessarily trying to plant anything there but mostly want to keep it at bay because it is so nasty getting those seed burrs stuck to our clothes. So frustrating! I also don't want them to take over the yard.

I may be hung out to dry, but I don't mind using chemicals *if* they get the job done.

Sounds like I've got a problem with a seed bank. Maybe I'll do pulling, spraying, etc. and then plant something that will crowd out the Galium weeds.

The areas where it is growing the most is in shaded spots. What ground cover would you recommend that is very hardy in shade and won't require a lot of water and grows in clay soil? Oh, and if it was chicken friendly too, it would be the perfect plant. What about a clover?

 

[beefy]

clover (at least here) only grows in the cooler months.

i'm not really a fan of groundcovers b/c they tend to ..well cover the ground (READ: take over). but is this area wooded? or just in the shade?

some of the liriopes and monkeygrass type plants will tolerate some shade and spread and only require mowing occasionaly if they get a little scraggly. (but if the area is wooded leaves on top of groundcovers look really bad and are a pain to get out)

variegated vinca is another beautiful plant but man will it spread!

same goes for ivy.

i think i'd just go for some good thick mulch and some shaving loving plants. you may have to put the mulch back when the chickens scratch around it will be easier to find eggs in than a groundcover! lol.