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Oh, the horror

May 17, 2010

I have met the enemy, and it is Alliaria petiolata.

“Alliaria petiolata.”

That was all my friend’s Facebook status said the other day. I instantly knew her pain.

Alliaria petiolata, better known as garlic mustard weed, is the kind of thing that can ruin your day and maybe even your summer. And many summers to come.

If you’re not familiar with this insidious weed, thank your lucky stars. But then keep reading. Because the second you find it in your yard you’re going to want to be prepared to deal with it.

Here’s the quick rundown on garlic mustard weed. It is native to Europe and was brought to America for use as a culinary herb. Unfortunately it escaped the confines of the kitchen garden and has been taking over ever since. It is a biennial which makes it extra tricky to get rid of: even if you are particularly dedicated one year to getting rid of it, baby plants are lurking to strike the next year. Perhaps the worst part of garlic mustard week is that it produces a chemical that essentially poisons the soil, so that native plants cannot thrive and eventually the garlic mustard weed takes over.

 The area by the bird feeders is full of garlic mustard weed, but fortunately it pulls out easily.

Obviously it must go. The only good news about garlic mustard weed is that it is easy to pull. The best time to pull it after a rain, when, as long as you grab it near the crown, it will pull right out, along with its big tap root. Try to pull it before it flowers, and before there’s seed to be spreading around. Pull it and put it straight in a garbage bag. No composting or burning this puppy. And don’t be tempted to do what I’ve been known to do: pull it and lay it on the ground until you can collect it. If it has flowers, it can still spread the flowers just laying there. In fact those nasty little seeds can stick to pant legs, dogs and your shoes, so you’ll be tracking the stuff everywhere.

 Don’t be fooled by that dainty white flower. This is one white accent you DON’T want in your yard.

Since garlic mustard weed pulls so easily, it is really the easiest way to tame it. Relatives pay kids $1 per bag of weeds to pull it (although as they get older, the kids have wised up and are charging more). The good news is that you CAN make a dent in an infestation. The bad news is that unless all of your neighbors work equally hard, there’s almost no way to eliminate the problem because of those nasty seeds.

But one thing is for sure, if you don’t do anything, eventually it will ruin your landscape. So get to work!

And just in case you subscribe to the “if life gives you lemons, make lemonade” mantra, give these garlic mustard weed recipes a try. But don’t bother telling me how they taste … after pulling hundreds of bags of the stuff over the last several years, I don’t even want to think about it, much less eat it!

by Erin @ The Impatient Gardener 
2 Comments

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Comments

  1. Remington says: May 17, 2010 at 1:38 pm

    Interesting….have fun getting rid of it!

    Reply
  2. Nikki says: May 18, 2010 at 7:15 pm

    I have the same problem with Morning Glorys and they're strangling my plants. I sit in my backyard and curse at them. It doesn't seem to help.

    Reply

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The Impatient Gardener

Do you love gardening? Me too! I'm Erin and I garden in Southeastern Wisconsin, zone 5. The Impatient Gardener is all about real-life gardening: the good parts, the bad bits and even the funny stuff. It's part information, part inspiration and a little bit commiseration. Thanks for visiting.

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E R I N 🌿 The Impatient Gardener
I had a rather unpleasant realization last night w I had a rather unpleasant realization last night when I remembered that I’d not yet ordered tomato seeds. And I’m not going to rectify that until I dig into my seed stash, because I don’t go through tomato seeds quickly so there are definitely some lurking down there. 

I never used to grow tomatoes from seed because there are great varieties to be had in garden centers (including many heirloom varieties). But it’s almost non-negotiable for me now that I’m a convert to dwarf tomatoes. If you’re not familiar with the #dwarftomatoproject championed by @nctomatoman and others, these are heirloom varieties that are crossed with dwarf varieties to create plant that produces all the flavor and interest of an heirloom in a short (usually less than 4 feet) plant. 

They are particularly great in my tall raised beds. Of course I leave room to try new non-dwarf varieties every year (I loved Sun Dipper from @panamseed last year and I’ll grow it again).

Last year was a good tomato year and the photo shows some of the varieties I harvested in one day. I hope this summer will be equally good for the tomato harvest. 

One of my favorite questions to ask gardeners is: What is your favorite tomato variety to grow? So have at it in the comments because inquiring minds want to know!
And this is why I leave my winter containers assem And this is why I leave my winter containers assembled until at least March. A dusting of snow gives them a whole new look (even if it’s shades of gray). Also, I think I love my Limelight hydrangea even more in winter. Fabulous winter interest!
I’m going to look for opportunities to add more I’m going to look for opportunities to add more ferns to my garden this year. They are such interesting plants and often real problem solvers, bringing texture and color to places that many plants aren’t interested in. Athyrium niponicum (Japanese painted fern) ‘Crested Surf’ grows well for me in part shade (even pushing a bit into part sun) and looks great next to Persicaria ‘Golden Arrow’.
Birds chirping, glorious fresh (i.e. not nibbled o Birds chirping, glorious fresh (i.e. not nibbled on) foliage, and texture galore. I can’t wait to have moments like this again. The star, by the way is Hakonechloa ‘All Gold’ which looks so good with the bold foliage of Ligularia dentata ‘Desdemona’ next to it. 

With the new path, this area will be getting a small revamp. It’s the next spot I’ll be focusing my planning on.
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