A New Enemy?

They say a weed is a plant where you don't want it.

Well . . . I guess I have a new weed that I don't want around.  It may even supersede knotweed as my arch-enemy.

What is it?

Galium Aparine (aka stickyweed, gooseweed, cleavers, bedstraw, stickywilly, stickyjack, etc.)

It seems to be everywhere this year!  It is in the white garden.  It is back in the corner of the property covering the neighbor's fence.  It is over by the barn near the daffodils.  It is over by the compost bins.

I've seen it around many years.  It has never been a problem.  This year it is rampant.  I don't know if it was the mild winter, the warm spring, or us traveling a lot last year and me not weeding enough (you can never weed enough).

The weed is sticky, and it has tiny, velcro-like prickers which can scratch you when you touch it.  It is a creeping weed and can get 1 to 2 meters long.  I can fill wheelbarrows full of it.  I hope I can really knock the rest of it back this weekend.

Maybe it could choke out the knotweed!  It doesn't get a big as knotweed.  Then again, maybe I'll keep the knotweed (better the devil you know than the one you don't)!

Do you have it where you are?

Happy Earth Day

I remember the first Earth Day back in 1970.  I was in elementary school.  We had a whole series of outside activities.  Our school system started a program called ECOS.  We spent a week each school year studying nature, collecting plants, learning outdoors skills, studying ecology.  I loved it.  I always likes being outside, seeing the wonder in nature.

I still love being outside watching nature.

The warm temperatures we have enjoyed these past weeks finally came to an end.  We had some highly welcomed rain yesterday, with more today.  The ground is dry, and the creek barely came up an inch.  We are expecting more rain tonight.  Excellent.

I put the tomato cages up in the new raised beds.

It will be some weeks before we can put them in.

I noticed the Knotweed is emerging!  It seems a few weeks later than previous years.  My guess is that it has been too dry.

I noticed that our female Holly bush was absolutely loaded with berries.  Maybe it was all the rain we got last year.  I'll need to watch what happens this year.

Keep watching nature and learning her lessons . . .

Still Shakin' the Bushes Boss . . .

If you've seen the movie 'Cool Hand Luke', you've seen the scenes where the prisoners are walking down those dusty country roads cutting weeds.  I had my version this past weekend.  The Japanese Knotweed has been growing like crazy with all the rain.  It was over 4 feet tall in places.  I got out my trusty scythe and knocked it back by the creek.

Knotweed - Before and After

We couldn't see the creek before, now we can enjoy it again.

. . .

Update - I've been blogging a lot about all the wild trilliums.  My lone trillium made it through the winter and it is twice the size it was last year.  It did not flower this year, though it can take up to 7 years before it flowers.  In time it will build a colony.  We'll see what happens over the years (you can see I have a little cage around it to protect it from accidental trimming, etc.).

Enjoy.

Seeing

"Vision is the art of seeing the invisible."  

-  Jonathan Swift

It was a typical weekend day in the yard.  I had to water and fertilize the garden, do some weeding, cut back the knotweed, and mow the yard.  This takes about 4 hours.  For some, it might seem like a lot of work, but I like it.  It is when you are deep in yard work that you truly see your yard.

I started with the tomatoes.  I had to stake them up some more.  As I was working in the tomato bed, I startled a garter snake sunning itself on the black weed cloth.  It then slithered away.  We have seen a lot of snakes this year.  It brought me a little joy to see the snake.

I brought out my trusty scythe, and went to knock back the knotweed by the creek.  I had completed a few strokes, when I notices a snail on one of the knotweed leaves.  This was the second time this year I had seen a snail in the yard.  I showed the wife the snail, took its picture,and put it back into the knotweed.

As I was cutting the knotweed, I noticed the sumac had set fruit.  Soon, I would be able to take the fruit clusters and brew some sumac tea (it tastes like a cross between iced tea and pink lemonade).

While trimming around the house, I came across a stray tomato plant growing by the trash cans.  I am not sure where it came from.  I has spread some compost around this part of the yard last year when I had put the stone in for the trash cans.  As  compost my tomatoes, I can only surmise it was a holdover from a previous year,

I had pulled weeds by hand around the barn.  I just threw the long grass and ivy into the yard where it would be chopped up when I came out with the lawn tractor.  While mowing the yard, I saw a robin grab one of the long pieces of grass.  I watched it fly around, and then fly up to a corner of the barn roof where it was making a nest in an overhang.

As  said, it is when you are deep in yard work that you truly see your yard.

War of the Knotweed

In the perpetual battle of man versus knotweed, I launched a major offensive today.

Before the Battle

It has been warm.  The knotweed by the creek has been growing like crazy.  It was over 4 feet tall in places.

After the Battle

It was very warm and muggy this morning.  It seems like it is always warm and muggy when I have to knock back the knotweed.   I grabbed the scythe and attacked it hard.  The scythe is the best tool for the job.  It takes a little effort, but it cuts a large swathe moves pretty fast.  I was able to clear the knotweed in about 30 minutes.  I was drenched in sweat, but I can now see our creek.

The knotweed will be back.  I'll have to hit it hard 3 or 4 more times this year.  Only when we get the next hard frost will the knotweed retreat until next year.

So Sad, Too Bad . . .

We had a hard frost the last 2 mornings.  Unfortunately, the bleeding hearts did not fare too well.  I know they will bounce back (they always do). My wife really likes them (she has good memories of her maternal grandmother's bleeding hearts).  So sad.

However, as I walked down to the creek (passing by a rabbit which ignored me), I noticed the knotweed took a big hit.  Not bad, so glad!

Auction Update:

Last weekend, I had put in an absentee bid for a Horrocks and Ibbotson 'Ike Walton' fly rod. Usually, they retail for $100.  They were never very fishable, but look nice on a wall.  I went as high as $75, but lost to an $80 bid.  Not mad, just sad.

The wife put in a lot of bids for crocks of various sizes.  Needless to say, she got a bunch of them.  We also picked up 2 green stoneware bowls.  Very glad!

A Fine Afternoon

I was caught up and work  Since it was a nice day, I left work early.

The Better Half with the 2-Man Saw

Last night my wife and I went to a preview at the local auction house.  I was interested in a 2-man saw and a bamboo flyrod.  Today, the wife went to the local auction house and got a bunch of large crocks (12 gal, 6 gal, 5 gal, 3 gal and 2 gal) and the saw.  She put in absentee bids for a few other items and the flyrod.  We'll find out on Monday if we got anything else.  I was excited to get the saw (and only $25).  The handles are tight, the blade is straight, and the teeth are well set.  It needs some cleaning up and sharpening.  I hope to get to it this weekend.

I took a bike ride when I got home.  I came across a neat barn with a cupola on it.  It was a little rundown, but it was still quite interesting.  We always fancied a cupola on our barn.

I found a large bunch of trilliums along a wooded hillside.  They are some of my favorite wildflowers.

I came home and worked in the yard.  I have kept up with the mowing, but I needed to trim the edges.  I got out the string trimmer and broke bad on the edges.  I then mowed the yard.

I noticed that the bleeding hearts are blooming, as are the lilacs.  New growth is leafing out on the larches.

Even the knotweed is reaching for the sky.  I took a picture 1 week ago.  The knotweed has gone from 6 inches to over 18 inches in 1 week.  I'll be getting the scythe out in a few weeks to knock it back.

Young Knotweed

1 Week Later . . .

We grilled steak and served it with fries and a salad for dinner.  Quite a nice afternoon indeed!

We're off to a big used book sale in Ithaca tomorrow.  Wish us luck.

Blooming Time

As I was out and about the yard, I came across a number of signs of spring . . .

The common dandelion.

Daffodils.

Dainty Violets.

Ground Ivy.

Most of these plants are common, and the violets, ivy and dandelion are pretty invasive and sometimes considered to be weeds. I am not obsessed by perfect lawns. Grass is boring compared to any of these plants.

However, the warm weather has brought out the Japanese Knotweed. Though the knotweed is only2 inches tall now, it can grow to 6 feet or more. I've already sharpened up the scythe. Bring it on . . .

Emergent Japanese Knotweed.

Brrrrrr. . .

We had our first hard freeze last night. I had already started to get things ready for the cold. Besides the odd jobs I did yesterday, I also did some last minute fix-it jobs, painting, etc., this weekend before it got too cold. Seems like there is always a last-minute painting task to do before it gets too cold.

We ran the stove all night. It was around 26 degF this morning. The pellet stove is in the living room. Because we close our bedroom door at night, our room gets pretty cold (about 60 degF). The bedspread seemed to collect on my wife's side of the bed, so I was a little cold this morning.

I hope the cold knocked back the knotweed. It was getting dark and rainy when I came home from work tonight, so I did not go down to the creek to check on it.

It was pretty driving into work. The leaves are near peak, and the frost gave everything a nice shine. I love this time of year. It is invigorating. I'll have to make some time this weekend for a walk in the woods before the leaves are all off the trees.

Knotweed

We had drainage problems around the barn. The addition on the southwest corner was not allowing water to drain away from the main foundation of the barn. We had water collecting in the lower level of the barn. I trenched around the foundation, layed in heavy plastic, and carted in 20 wagonloads of field stone to line the trench. This allowed water to flow away from the foundation. When I was putting the drain in, I ran across a stand of plants stalks about 6 feet tall. I also found them along the creek. At first I could not figure out what it was – but in time I learned about it – it is Japanese Knotweed!

Japanese Knotweed

Japanese Knotweed is a non-native species which was brought from Asia. It is an extremely aggressive species. It can grow as much as 18 inches a week. It likes wet areas, like the side of creeks and areas of poor drainage. Japanese Knotweed can grow to be 8 feet tall. It can send roots down over 6 feet. I even found shoots growing into the second floor of the milk shed! Because its roots are so deep, it can’t be pulled. It does respond to some herbicides, but I did not want to use them near the creek.

Luckily, knotweed is easy to cut. Its stalk looks like bamboo, but is very soft and usually full of water. Cutting it with a string trimmer works, but the watery-filled stalk tends to spray water all over. I’ve found the best tool is an old-fashion scythe.

The Knotweed Slayer

I bought a scythe at an auction for $15. It was in good shape, and with a little tightening and blade sharpening, I was ready to tackle the knotweed. I have to cut the weed back every three weeks, or it grows so tall that we can’t see the creek. As long as you trim it, it stays in check. In time I also learned knotweed has 2 enemies – Japanese beetles and cold weather. It seems very few animals eat knotweed. At least Japanese beetles are good for something. As far as cold, once the first frost kicks in, the knotweed turns brown and dies back.

Now that I know what knotweed is, we see it all around the area. We were in Vermont last weekend visiting friends, and even noticed it there. I know I’ll never rid the property of knotweed (it’s all around every stream in the area). The battle of the knotweed won’t end – but I’ll keep fighting it.