Weed War Part 1

I have a different view when it comes to weeds, I do my best not to use anything in my garden besides pulling.  When it comes to weeds in the yard, I will use round-up and blackberry weed killer but I would prefer to use something that I consider less toxic.  So here is a list of the weeds I have and they are all considered noxious (obnoxious) weeds in Washington and Pierce county.  Here is the list with photos:

 This is a pile of canadian thistle that has grown up through a tarp and 3 feet of dirt (this is also what happens when you procrastinate to put the dirt in the garden beds).  The thistle has slowly been making its way towards the house and we are slowly loosing this war.  We are just about to bring out the big guns and see what happens.








This is a beautiful field of creeping buttercup.  Don't know what will kill this yet.

Blackberries, I like some of them so I can have fresh blackberries but I don't need them in the middle of the yard.  The leave are brown because I am trying out new weed control methods.

This is an area that I just planted but they are being hidden by the weeds.   The tough thing about this area is I don't want to spray anything that my harm the surrounding foliage.

This beautiful (sarcastic) photo has 4 plants all in one.  From left to right: Herb Robert (Geranium robertanum), bedstraw (also know as the little plants that produce the burrs that stick to everything), Canadian Thistle, creeping buttercup.










We are also at war with Tansy ragwort which is a fineable weed.  We are getting it early so it doesn't spread and doesn't come back.  It is toxic and potentially lethal if eaten by certain livestock.  The bad thing is that the seeds can remain viable for 10 to 16 years so we have a long road ahead.

If you want a better list of noxious weeds and what category they fall into (established but tolerable, less tolerable and evil like tansy) go to http://www.nwcb.wa.gov/nwcb_nox.htm the Noxious weed guide to Washington State (it is a good site).

Happy gardening and weed pulling.  Next post will be how my alternative weed control ideas seem to be working.