Laura, how miserable for you. Can you get any ideas from Bill's recent post
on Argentine ants? Or perhaps if you have time to listen to that lecture by
Eric Grissell, that Joel posted, you might gain some insights into why the
ants swarm in your yard and invade your house. I'm very sorry you are still
having ant problems.
Pat
It's all that good organic produce and good home cooking. ( couldn't resist).
I wonder how many more of us are harbering our own demons. In my case it's field bindweed, Convolvulus arvensis. It's slowly taking over my vegetable garden. As an experiment I tried to smother it this year by putting 2 layers of cardboard ( from an appliance ) on the paths through my budding wild flower meadow. It took about 6 weeks for it to work through the cardboard. It did serve one purpose a while back. When we had some really strong winds the cardboard anchored by the bindweed stayed in place.
Gil
funny, but not really, I sympathize.
susan
It actually was funny until I realized that it was going to be a fight to move the cardboard to try to deal with the weed. Add it to my todo list.
Nothing like an ant investation. We get a few black ants in the house, a few earwigs around the kitchen drain, and crickets wherever. Usually where their chirping makes the most racket in the most inaccessible cracks. Like above the drywall ceiling in the kitchen just where it would echo up the stairway to the bedroom.
Gil
BEtween tillage passes, why not throw down a good coating of some covercrop
seed, such as buckwheat and rye?
In a month's time( wait), it could be 3 feet high and would make great
fodder for support of the microherd that will munch on the bindweed- after
you tilled it in.
IN theory anyway:-)
bille
Behalf Of Kathryn Marsh
I'm clearing a badly infested area this summer by hitting it with a
tiller every two weeks.
This is a multi-part message in MIME format.
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Won't tilling bindweed multiply it?
BEtween tillage passes, why not throw down a good coating of some =
covercrop
seed, such as buckwheat and rye?
In a month's time( wait), it could be 3 feet high and would make =
great
fodder for support of the microherd that will munch on the bindweed- =
after
you tilled it in.
IN theory anyway:-)
bille
I'm clearing a badly infested area this summer by hitting it with a
tiller every two weeks.
------=_NextPart_000_006A_01C5A48D.54FCBA00
I only wish Bill's suggestions worked here. Alas a similar attempt
only encouraged the bindweed to grow bigger and stronger. The only
way I've found of clearing an area is to make sure that I get every
shoot, and as much of the root under it as possible, the day it comes
through. Its the only weed that drives me to routine tillage. I've
known it travel 20 metres under mulch to get to the light. I'm
clearing a badly infested area this summer by hitting it with a
tiller every two weeks. The number of roots surfacing each pass is
getting less but I'm still seeing a few despite the fact that I've
been doing this since early April but this is going to be a new
covered fruit cage so I really don't want to spend my entire
gardening life on the battle with it
CAn't say that I have, Kathryn, but have tackled mustard and buckwheat
that high.
Is the root system too fibrous or what is so tough about it tilling in rye?
Doesn't incorporate well?
Maybe a knockdown w/ a mower/weed wacker is advised prior to tillage to get
the max benefit going towards the decomposers.
.
bille
san diego
Behalf Of Kathryn Marsh
Sent: Friday, August 19, 2005 7:52 AM
To: OGL@LSV.UKY.EDU
Subject: Re: Busy days, and ANTS
Have you ever tried to till in three foot high rye Bill? I have - once.
Have you ever tried to till in three foot high rye Bill? I have - once.
The tilling to kill bindweed has to be done as soon as it shows its
first few leaves so that the maximum drawdown of food from the
rhyzome has happened but it hasn't really got into the swing of
making new ones - in our case every two weeks
kathryn
