Re: Weed Control for Impossibles?

At 10:26 AM -0800 10/31/04, david feix wrote:
>....In the meantime, all I can say, is that I wouldn't wish
>the Nothoscordum on my worst enemy, and have yet to
>defeat it in any garden where I am dealing with it.

Several years ago, I noticed a small patch of Nothoscordum inodorum
spreading in my neighbor's yard, so about 4-5 times over 2-3 months, I
thoroughly weeded (and rooted around in the soil for the tiny bulbs)
whenever I saw new ones coming up. Spent an hour or so each time. Haven't
seen it since.

Keys to success:
-- Small infestation: Total area about 9 sq. ft., densest in the sunnier
corner, about half that area.
-- Confined: Bounded by gravel on one side, brick path on the other, shaded
by Ilex aquifolium, in a garden bed containing Aucuba japonica, Buxus spp.,
and Impatiens oliveri, and mulched by Cedrus deodara needles. (Some
Nothoscordum was starting to come up in the compacted soil of the gravel
path!)
-- Convenient location: I passed by frequently and could sit in the shade
while playing with the dogs.
-- Slow spread: A year or so before they started taking over, I'd noticed
one or two, after several low Buxus microphylla japonica hedges had been
removed and a B. m. koreana ball radically pruned.
-- Thorough weeding: Harvested at least a flat full of bulbs and foliage
each time. I took care to remove all of the above-ground green and as much
of the below-ground bulbs as I could find. (If I'd been paid to do this, I
could probably have made the argument that weeding the same small spot 5
times within a couple months would be worth it in the long run. And some
homeowners could be motivated to recognize these weeds and to go after them
as soon as they appear, either by pulling or smothering with mulch.)
-- Loose loam with no other roots to disturb: When I pulled up any foliage,
I was able to get a handful of bulbs -- very satisfying. I didn't sift the
dirt, but I did look through it carefully for the tiny white bulbs.

As with bermuda grass or bindweed or oxalis, the key is diligence. If it
were a larger area I'd recommend sheet mulching, minimum 6-12 inches thick,
using cardboard on the bottom layer, and then planting in the mulch. Some
of the permaculturists are even using 18 inches to 2 feet of lasagna/mulch.


Tanya Kucak
Palo Alto, Calif.
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