Re: OT - Thistles
- To: Multiple recipients of list <i*@rt66.com>
- Subject: Re: OT - Thistles
- From: M* H* <M*@worldnet.att.net>
- Date: Sun, 22 Jun 1997 21:44:31 -0600 (MDT)
To John in BC & Jeff in Utah:
No intent to cast aspersions on Canada when discussing monster thistles!
My mom, who was born & raised in Manitoba, is offended when Coloradoans
curse this thistle as "Canadian" & it may, indeed, be mis-identified,
Jeff. All I know is that there are 3 different thistles which have
invaded this territory & are *locally* called Canada/Canadian, Spotted
Knapweed & Russian thistles. I saw a show-&-tell display at our public
library several years ago & believe it also referred to the former as
the Musk thistle, but I can't site an authority we can all check out to
see if we're in agreement.
One thing I guarantee is that anyone living here who spends time
outdoors is familiar with all 3 beasties & is aware how ferociously
invasive they've become. They are serious enough pests that the county I
live in has declared war on them & has a law in place to force
landowners to control the spread of all three. If the landowners don't
comply, the county will come in & spray & bill the recalcitrant or
absentee owner.
These thistles literally take over whole fields, especially disturbed
ground or heavily grazed pastures, & crowd out everything else but bunch
grasses, including the native thistle which is short, pretty & not
obnoxious at all unless you step on it barefoot. Supposedly all 3 aliens
arrived in the crop seed (especially wheat) that immigrant homesteaders
brought to the USA from wherever home was for them -- often, yes,
Eurasia, i.e., the Ukraine.
As for killing thistles, especially the nightmare beastie, I have
refined my technique for a 5-yr period & swear by it. I use
super-concentrate Round Up, adding 2 1/2 oz to 1 gallon of water. I do
not use a sprayer -- we get too much wind & I found that I was creating
dead zones with a sprayer, being unable to target just the offending
plant. So I either use a backpack sprayer set on "drizzle" (my word --
don't know how else to state it) or a thin nozzle that screws onto a 1
gal plastic milk jug. Then I drizzle or *pour* the Round Up on the
thistle, concentrating on the flower heads or buds (if any are formed) &
the biggest leaves. Doing this on the hottest, sunniest days seems to
work fastest, but even on cool cloudy days it will still kill the plant
to the roots within 6-8 days. The important part is that the plant gets
really soaked in Round Up & that at least 2 hours of dry time ensues or
rain will wash it off or dilute it too much.
Ideally, I hit the thistles when they are just basal leaves, but I have
3 1/2 acres to patrol & a wet spring/early summer such as we just had
means the weeds get ahead of me. Point is, Round Up will kill these
invaders at any stage of growth, from newly up to full-flower or after,
if put on correctly.
The irony of all this is that the best weed control of all is against
the law in our county: fire. Because of population increase & consequent
fear of wildfire or forest fires, the burning off of fields & meadows
can no longer be done. Pity.
Marte in the mtns
