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Re: Hemlock

Square Foot Gardening List - http://www.flinet.com/~gallus/sqft.html

Diana Newman wrote:
> OK, I'm very new at this sq.ft gardening thing, not to mention new to
> the list, but I have a question about a very nasty weed that has taken
> over my bulb garden. My neighbor tells me that it is poison
> hemlock.....it's almost pretty, but very big, and VERY poisonous. How is
> the best way to get rid of it, hopefully without killing the tulips it's
> hiding?

Well first you may wish to positively identify the "weed". Water hemlock
is indeed violently poisonous, but several other plants look very
similar but are indeed quite edible, for example angelica, queen anne's
lace, and boneset. Unless you're bulb garden is in a damp area (e.g.
next to a stream or leaky sprinkler system) it's unlikely it's water
hemlock, but if you have a _peterson's field guide to wild edible
plants_ or _peterson's field guide to venomous animals and poisonous
plants_ that should help you clear up any confusion.

But regardless, even if it is water hemlock, it won't harm you just by
touching it. You can yank it out just like any other weed, but I
wouldn't add it to the compost pile :)

I don't know anything about the root structure off hand though. The best
advice is to weed constantly and get the undesired plants when they're
small and easy to pluck out.

Just my $0.02...

J.Maier
jmaier@mindspring.com
------------------------------------------------------------------------
"The aesthetics of natural science and mathematics is at one with the 
 aesthetics of music and painting--both inhere in the discovery of a
 partially concealed pattern."

                      -Herbert A. Simon _The Sciences of the Artificial_


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