Easiest way to reclaim weedy areas?

[housemouse]

We have weedy areas all along our stream, about 20 feet deep and maybe 300 feet long.

I am wondering what would be the simplest method to reclaim these without resorting to massive doses of round-up, a bulldozer, or brush hooger.

Any ideas for two tired old folks who can work it a bit at a time, and have no money to "hire" it out?

 

[housemouse]

One idea I am toying with is to try planting herbs that are known to be invasive, such as mints.

Are there any other plants or herbs that would out-compete the goldenrod, poison ivy, and junky stuff? I could clear little patches and stick them in, and let them fight it out.

I would love to have that area filled with things like Anise Hyssop, Yarrow, Echinacea, etc... but have to find an easy and cheap way to go about it.

 

[Willow]

Have you considered goats? They LOVE weeds and have done a marvelous job of improving some of my pastures. They would much rather eat weeds than grass...leave that to the sheep.

The down sides to goats is they are difficult to fence. You can tie them out but should not leave them tied and unattended. They are sitting ducks for dogs. Electric will work but you probably need two strands of wire for those that really want to leave. They will also strip bark off trees so valued trees need to be protected.

Willow

 

[housemouse]

Willow, I was just reading up on goats!

Alas, I can't convince my city-raised DH to go beyond my two dogs. How I wish I could have a couple of goats! I also want a few sheep, and some chickens, maybe a few ducks as well. He gets all tense and anxious every time I bring up the subject.

He points out the cost of building a proper shelter for them, the cost of the fencing, the vet bills, the daily time and attention, and the difficulty of finding someone to care for them if either of us are ill/hospitalized. And, he is right, of course. Our children are either way too far away, and are too busy with careers to fill in to care for animals if we are incapacitated.

I had thought about finding someone locally who would "rent" out a few goats for a week or two. But, if they are like I am, they wouldn't trust me with their precious critters!( If I were lucky enough to have a few goats, someone would have to rent me too, to keep a careful eye on my goat buddies!)

Probably the best I can do is to scythe down some of the stuff, and then cardboard it over and mulch the heck out of it, planting some clover or other green manure crop to take over. Then dig it under and plant more desirable things.

 

[summerthyme]

jaquej- before you do anything, get a soil test! It's likely from the sounds of what is growing there that you are dealing with the typical Chautauqua County acid soils. It won't make much difference WHAT you try to plant (except blueberries and brambles!), if you don't lime the soil and get it sweeter, the "weeds" are going to continue to win.

Daylilies "take over" areas and crowd out weeds probably better than anything else I've seen. Mints will spread, but they probably won't win against goldenrod, which also spreads by underground rhizomes. You probably will need to use Roundup on the goldenrod- but the good news is that Roundup really WORKS on goldenrod, unlike on some other things which seem to thrive on the stuff!

A lot depends on what you want to DO with this area. Is it just that it "looks junky", or do you want to be able to picnic and hike there?

If it's looks, mowing it every couple of weeks will knock down some of the weedier stuff. Planting brambles (raspberries, blackberries, etc) would crowd out some of the other weeds and give you edible berries as well.

But first, test the soil. And talk to the folks at FSA, too. It's too late this year, but they sell "conservation plants" at VERY reasonable prices every spring. They'd have good ideas of what would grow and thrive in that area, and would be well worth talking to.

Summerthyme

 

[housemouse]

Thanks, Summerthyme! As you can see, Dennis changed my "hat" back to what it was when I was first on the Y2K board, and I yam so appy!

Yep, I am sure it is typical Chautauqua County soil. Will get the soil tested, and "bolo" for acid loving plants. We prefer to use what is natural to our area, but enough of the golden rod and poison ivy already!

Day lilies here I come~ and blueberries, etc...

 

[oops]

uh...are u certain...that it's weeds ...and not lotsa different wild herbs?...most folks today...look at a patch of "weeds" and see something that needs destroyed and something useful put in...but...when U start looking at it from another point...most "weeds" turn out to be some kind of herb(not always...but usually)...now..whether u want to keep said herbs...is a totally different story...I have worlds biggest mess of weeds...in one section of my yard...but...I CAN eat well......

oops

 

[housemouse]

You are so right, oops. Before I start ripping and whacking, I ought to get a good book on plant identification.

You have a good use for goldenrod, by the way? What can be done with poison ivy? I know birds like the berries, so will leave some for them.

Chuckling, cause I know that certain "weeds", like "chickweed" are very good to feed my pups, iffin I grind them up good in the cuisinart first... probably good for me, too, but would rather eat ice cream!

 

[oops]

housemouse...

here's what I found for u on goldenrod...couldn't remember off the top of my head...sigh...

Goldenrod Uses

oops

as for the p.ivy...wewwwwwwwwwwwwwww...

 

[housemouse]

I know, the birds love poison ivy! I comfort myself with that thought.

Going to your goldenrod link right now!

 

[snaffle]

If the land is mowable , i.e. not too fragile and marshy and not too rough, my first choice would be to mow, mow, mow (especially if you don't have the goat option). This way you could avoid disturbing the soil and integrity of the streambank, and you might get just the results you want.

If you have access to a small tractor-mounted bushhog or even a walk-behind Gravely mower, you could use one of these to clear the heavy grasses and shrubby stuff (a gas weed-wacker with a brush-cutter attachment could be used if the land isn't suitable for a heavier machine). If the stubble left from the first "knockdown" isn't too heavy you might be able to switch to a regular rotary mower for the next cutting. After that just keep mowing it regularly. It's amazing what a season or two of regular mowing can to do to change the balance of plant species. If after a few seasons of mowing you don't like the results, you can always try something else.

AVOID Roundup if at all possible. You are certain to get runoff if you spray along the stream banks, and the surfactants in Roundup have some very nasty effects on aquatic life. Monsanto makes another version of Roundup with supposedly "aquatic friendly" surfactants but your typical Ag store doesn't stock the stuff - it would have to be specially ordered in most areas. It's supposed to be "safe" for use around wetlands, etc. but I don't know anyone who has ever used it, so I can't vouch for it (and I wouldn't exactly trust Monsanto's word on the matter . . .)

 

[housemouse]

I agree about the mowing. Is the best way, really. And, I do not want to use Round-Up because of the stream, which leads to a little pond, and poverflow from the pond goes back into the stream on the other side, and then goes into Chautauqua Lake.

I am not a believer in using chemicals and pesticides. You get into a vicious cycle with the pesticides, really. The more you use, the more you kill off the good bugs, and then the more you have to keep using them. Better to get the good bugs built up to take care of the bad ones.