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Post by brownrexx on Apr 18, 2021 7:59:56 GMT -5
Canada Thistle! Aghhh.
I have had a small patch of this in my garden for several years. I always gently pull out the plants but the root breaks off and of course they always grow back.
This year I can see the I have more than usual and I knew that I had to do something. I was going to try vinegar but I Googled and most people say that it only kills the leaves. Why bother with that?
Google also says not to dig because of leaving parts of root in the soil which will regrow but I had to do something and 2,4 D is not an option so I got the shovel and dug really deep. The soil was wet as deep as I could dig so it was easy and then I used my gloved hands to tease the soil apart and remove the thistle plants and roots.
I was able to remove about 50 small plants and I felt like I removed lots of the main roots but I am sure that I didn't get them all.
Does anyone have a better way of dealing with Canada Thistle?
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Post by september on Apr 18, 2021 9:03:52 GMT -5
I have the same problem as you, I dig as much of the root out as I can, but often a bit snaps off the very tip and they regrow. My soil is heavy clay in the worst spot, so it's impossible to lift them out cleanly. I don't know how you can keep them from sending out underground runners and clone plants. I hope to put down some heavy woven ground cover in some of the area where I have potted plants, and maybe starve them for light. I think I will just have to be more vigilant in removing the new plants as soon as they appear. I get lax later in the season when things are growing lushly and the thistles are camouflaged by other plants. Also, some plants have established in the lawn next to the garden, and they keep getting mowed but I'm sure they keep the garden supplied with offshoots. A few years ago, I did spray with Roundup, but that was only temporary and at least some came back the next year.
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Post by paulf on Apr 18, 2021 10:53:59 GMT -5
In Nebraska Canada Thistle is considered a noxious weed and must be controlled wherever it grows. Every county has a noxious weed commissioner who scouts out the weed. Our village wastewater lagoon area had four thistles and we were warned to eradicate them or face fines.
This is the method we were told to use by the State: in the spring use Round-Up Pro to kill the vegetation. This must be done before bud formation. This will not kill the plant, so periodic mowing before any buds show to slow growth. Then in the fall another treatment of Round-Up or Dicamba with 2-4-D so that the roots are killed. This may take two or three years to completely kill the thistle.
Canada Thistle is very difficult to kill and spreads very easily and in big distances because of aggressive root growth. Vigilance and chemical use is the only sure way to control it.
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Post by paquebot on Apr 18, 2021 12:50:12 GMT -5
It can be killed without chemicals but takes time. As soon as it appears, use a hoe and slice it off several inches below the surface. The shoots will come up white Don't allow them to turn green or they will keep replacing energy in the roots. One of my plots in the community gardens had it. By fall it was gone.
Martin
The truth is more important than the facts.
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Post by brownrexx on Apr 18, 2021 14:30:59 GMT -5
Thanks paulf, but I won't be using those chemicals in my garden. These thistles are adjacent to my lettuce and definitely do not want chemicals on my lettuce or even near it. I dug up as much of it as I could see and will keep my eye on the area and keep hoeing them as paquebot, suggested. I have never allowed them to form buds or flower but they have spread from the roots. I am motivated to get rid of them this year and I will be vigilant. I will report back with my results.
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Post by Laura_in_FL on Apr 19, 2021 9:50:39 GMT -5
Good luck!
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Post by brownrexx on May 15, 2021 7:42:10 GMT -5
I have been very vigilant with digging up the Canada Thistles as they appear. I take my shovel and did as deep as I can and then remove the plant and as much of the root as I can.
Sometimes it seems like I got the entire root but other times it is straight across at the bottom like a small piece has broken off even though I did not see it.
It is about a month since I wrote the first post and I feel like I am making progress with my digging. I am still having small plants pop up but it seems like I am getting less of them.
Fingers crossed that eventually they will quit growing.
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Post by september on May 15, 2021 8:29:07 GMT -5
Good luck, brownrexx ! Mine are not too bad yet, I pulled a lot last fall and they are slower than the grass in emerging. Many are in a working/sitting area of my front garden, I hope to cover the area with a heavy green weed barrier cloth that I bought last year. Smother them a bit.
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Post by brownrexx on May 15, 2021 8:42:04 GMT -5
september , In the past I would wait until the soil was really moist and then try to slowly pull the plants. Most of the time I would get a decent amount of root but it always broke off. This year I am digging beside the plants with a shovel to a depth of about 12" and then pulling the resulting clump of soil apart with my gloved hands and removing the plant and root. This seems to be working a lot better.
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Post by september on May 15, 2021 11:14:22 GMT -5
brownrexx , our front yard is solid clay! Before I started tilling in a lot of horse bedding, straw and manure, I swear I could use it to make pottery. This was 40 years ago. The sitting area I'm referring to was never tilled or gardened. I had wood chips on it when I had a free supply of them, but that was a while ago and now they have degraded into a nice little bit of top soil just right for any weed to grow in. But the clay layer is too hard to get every last bit of rat tail of the root out, so as you know, they eventually grow back. And of course they have those underground runners that do make it to the garden itself. I think horsetail is worse though, and I have plenty of that as well. At least horsetail doesn't stab your fingers! Weed heaven here! I thought I was rid of the nettles that came in a truckload of black dirt, but even they pop up in unexpected places every few years.
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Post by brownrexx on May 15, 2021 20:34:53 GMT -5
september,Those darn roots break off in clay every time. I have a lot of clay too but my garden has a decent layer of good soil about 12" deep on top of the clay so I have been able to dig out big sections of the roots.
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Post by pepperhead212 on May 15, 2021 21:32:55 GMT -5
Would solarizing help destroy that weed, if using clear plastic, and leaving it long enough?
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Post by bluelacedredhead on Dec 7, 2021 22:57:09 GMT -5
Brownrexx, I had a lot of Canada thistle in the front pasture when we first bought the farm I dug them and heavily salted the roots. With diligence, they died off.
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Post by brownrexx on Dec 8, 2021 9:08:52 GMT -5
bluelacedredhead, It definitely requires diligence. I am getting ahead in the war but small ones still keep popping up.
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Post by bluelacedredhead on Dec 8, 2021 9:25:37 GMT -5
brownrexx, Might also try treating the roots with Commercial Grade Vinegar (20%). I wonder if they would have it in that lovely seed store you frequent?
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Post by brownrexx on Dec 8, 2021 10:53:24 GMT -5
bluelacedredhead, I may try something like that this year but the problem is that little ones keep popping up a distance away from where the original one was. I probably caused this by roto tilling and spreading small pieces of root and you know how durable they are! I have downsized my garden by about 10 feet in length and planted grass. I think that a lot of the thistle may be in that section and it won't bother me there. We'll have to wait and see. Good to see you posting again.
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