Gold Hill Weed World: 

(1) The Thistles (2) Cheatgrass (3)  Bindweed

Thistles—Canada, Bull, Scotch

To remove: 

At this time of year, you can dig them out, cut them off at ground level, or mow them. 

If you are interested in a few human uses, read on. If not, skip to Cheatgrass below.

Human uses:

Food:

 It’s Spring Greens season! Here’s a brief article on Edible and Medicinal Properties of Invasive Weeds–Canada Thistle. This is the best time of year to pick for eating. Choose small ones from your garden or anywhere they have not been sprayed. I’ve never eaten them raw, only cooked. 

Some people use Bull thistles to coagulate milk to make cheese.

Garden and landscaping mulch:

I dig them out of the garden, removing the root so it doesn’t reproduce. I lay the leaves down as mulch to keep the soil covered and feed nutrients to my garden and wherever better soil could be useful on the land. Six inches or more of mulch helps keep weeds down (using weeds for weed-control!)

(Then I’ll either cook the roots and put them in compost, as they won’t reproduce after being cooked. Or discard them raw or put in a paper bag to dry for winter woodstove tinder.) 

For Honeybees and Wild Pollinators:

When the thistles go to flower, our bees are grateful for the nourishment. Canada thistle is a big bee plant. I remove the flower heads after about a week (ten days is pushing it), right before they go to seed. I pop them into a paper bag and save them to make tinder for wood stove fires in the winter.

Cheatgrass/Downy Brome  

To Remove: Get it NOW! Before it turns red, dries out, and goes to seed!

Why? (1) when it’s dry, it’s no fun to mitigate, as it’s big bad for allergy sufferers (2) when it’s dry the seed is mature and it can reproduce. It’s harder to remove when mature, as the dry seed easily shatters off .  When the seed is mature, it’s purple-red.

How: at this season, it’s really easy to pull out. Or have your ruminant eat it NOW before the seed matures. You can also mow it NOW, before it matures. Cut off the roots and discard or save in a paper bag as tinder for winter wood stove fires. 

Human Uses: 

Domestic ruminant food before the seeds mature, woodstove tinder; craft beer aficionados take note : Brewing Beer with Cheatgrass

Bindweed

To Remove: 

Pull it. Have fun seeing where it has twined itself!  

Biological controls for Field bindweed include a microscopic mite, and a foliage feeding moth. 

For more information on ordering and control, go to this government page.

If you are interested, please contact me. I have an email in to our county contact about this.

Human Uses: Some human uses can be found here.

Pam Sherman     pamsher123@nullgmail.com