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lurker question - Garlic Mustard weeds
Hey everyone, I love lurking here and have learned so much from you guys! I am hoping you can help with our weed issue.
I spent all morning researching weeds and I am 99.9% sure we have garlic mustard weeds TAKING OVER our wooded area. We have 2 huge bag fulls and tons and tone more to pull, and from what I have read, that is not likely to do the trick. The websites said we need to spray weed killer.
Here are my questions:
Will weed killer also harm the native things that are supposed to grow in the woods? I hate the idea of a mass killing back there, but I also hate that these garlic mustard weeds are (and will continue to) taking over the property! Any know a better way to get rid of them?
If we need a weed killer, is there an eco friendly one that you all can recommend (or is that the same question as #1?). We have a 2 year old and the property has deer and lots of different birdies and I want them to be ok too!
Thanks SO much!!
Beth
Our Twin Baby + a Big Girl Blog
And with the delivery trifecra of one twin vaginal, one c-section with general anesthesia for twin B, Spencer and Sidney joined us at 35 weeks exactly on June 18.
Re: lurker question - Garlic Mustard weeds
Sounds like we have the same problem! We own 3 acres of land with woods and some ponds. There is garlic mustard everywhere and I've been working the last two years to remove it. I don't use chemicals on them because of the impact they can have on the environment especially the amphibians in our ponds. The best way is to pull it but you have to get the bent taproot or it will come back. It's easiest to do this right after a rain otherwise you may need some hand tools to get it out intact. Make sure to press the soil back down and disturb it as little as possible because garlic mustard seeds can last 10 years before they germinate. If there are seeds in the soil (which there will be around established plants) exposing them to sunlight will let them germinate.
I try to go out there and pull at least a few plants every night after work. I'm working on my 2nd garbage bag full right now but I have a long ways to go because my weekends have been so busy. Last year I got 5 garbage bags full and I plan to top that. All of the ladies in my garden club are battling similar garlic mustard invasions and have overtime really reduced the number they get every year but you will always have to pull a few garlic mustard plants. It's never ending sorry to say. Make sure to get every part of the plants you pull in the garbage bags and mark them "Invasive Plants: Do Not Put In Landfill" on a piece of tape. Then in our area we can put them on the curb and the garbage pick up is required to take them to the burn sites for us. Check to see what is available in your area. In our state it is also illegal to have garlic mustard on your property and not be at least attempting to remove it.
Focus on pulling out the 2nd year plants (the big ones with the eventual flowers) as they are the ones that will be producing seeds this year. Then if you have time get the first year plants (the really small non-intimidating guys). People try all kinds of things to get rid of them including controlled burns (which is a problem around trees), chemicals, mowing, tilling, and pulling. But pulling them by hand and getting the roots is the fastest easiest way. The other option is to spray Round-up or similar product that kills everything very, very early in the year right after the snow has melted and garlic mustard is the only thing growing. Most native plants will be dormant at that time. If the snow melts too late in the year that may not be an option for that year though.
When you do have an area cleared of garlic mustard consider planting native plants to help crowd out the garlic mustard in the future. This won't prevent it 100% but the native plants shading the soil filled with garlic mustard seeds will help.
HTH and good luck! And thanks for taking the time to try to better this world by removing it.
Thanks, but oh man! My GM must be worse than yours - we already have 2 full bags and in some areas, no end in sight! I am also really scared because we didn't know what they were and left piles of them on the ground last night. I put those into the 2nd trash bag this morning and my fingers are crossed that no seeds fell.
I think we may need to go the Round Up option in some areas.
Any idea on what I can plant in the woods to take their place?
Thanks!
Our Twin Baby + a Big Girl Blog
And with the delivery trifecra of one twin vaginal, one c-section with general anesthesia for twin B, Spencer and Sidney joined us at 35 weeks exactly on June 18.
If I were you I would begin researching native plants for your area online. There are TONS of options for a woodland native plant garden. I live in zone 7b so my native plant knowledge may not carry over to CT but some of the first things that spring to mind are:
Ferns (there are spreaders and clumpers)
Tiarella (also clumpers OR spreaders depending on your needs)
Soloman's Seal
Columbine
Azaleas and Rhododendrons (make sure you do your research to be sure you are getting natives)
Beautyberry
Ilex verticillata (winterberry holly)- One of my ALL TIME favs!
Shade tolerant carex
Jacob's Ladder
Phlox
Spring ephemerals (Trillium, jack in the pulpit, bluebells, etc)
I guess I could go on forever really... but like I said those are these native to the Piedmont region where I live and they may not be native where you are.
Don't worry it isn't seed season yet! They need to bloom (white little flower clusters) first and then they produce long brown seed pods. You want to do all your pulling or even walking in that area before your seed pods begin so that you aren't knocking the seeds free and spreading them.
Another option you can try but it takes a while is to paint Round-up on the leaves of the garlic mustard with a paint brush. That way only those plants will die and all of the native vegetation won't be affected. But that is typically only done in small groups of garlic mustard. Here's a good website explaining the options for getting rid of garlic mustard.
As far as replacement plants I'd contact your local ag. extension. I think you're right it sounds like your GM infestation is much worse than mine. Our woods is actually pretty clear of it. It's along the woods, in our yard, and in fenced in dog yard we created just off our yard that it is the worst. In my dog yard I'm replacing it with lots of ground covers like ajuga, irish moss, sedum, and pachysandra because we want something short but don't want to mow the area. As far as planting in the woods I know there are plugs and seed mixes you can buy but I'd consult a local expert first. To add to the pp native plant list I have a lot of trout lily, bloodroot, woodland poppies, mayapples, meadowrue, wild geranium, and wild leeks along the edge of our woods.