I’ve written about my attempts to remove Canada Thistle many times before and I’ve attempted to capture it all on video before but never followed through.
That changes today.
The video below captures step one in my attempted eradication of this terrifying and invasive weed.
I will win.
Hi John, Just stopping in quick to let you know that the yellow flower weed is St John’s Wort.
Hi John , Just one suggestion : if thistle has seed heads on it I’d be a bit concerned about tossing them in a compost pile because seeds may spread throughout the compost . If compost becomes very “hot” weed seeds may be killed , but not worth the chance , just throw them in your household trash . Also , although it’s hard , why not try to dig up roots to avoid them coming back? or spray w/ organic herbicide , vinegar /salt mix , sure you know that one , to kill them altogether . Great posts !
I got rid of our Canadian thistle by cutting it to the ground like you did. But then, with a large medical syring I put a mixture of dish soap and extremely saturated salt water (1 cup to 1 cup) into each root, on hands and knees. That got 80 percent, but 20 % still came back, so I did the same syring this time with 1/2 10/30 oil and 1/2 gas. That killed the suckers off for good. Now, years later, if I even see one coming up, it’s the oil/gas syring treatment…. Swish, swish gone.
I cut back as well but when it starts to grow back I often spray it with Stinger. I don’t rely to much on chemical controls but for some battles I bring in the big guns. In my own gardens I tend to try to use the repeated cut down method in my own gardens. However I also work on several gardens around town, (church, Post Office, County Fairgrounds). It’s much harder to get rid of them with just cutting in those areas, therefore Stinger in those beds.
Aww, Deborah, you beat me to the punch on the St. John’s Wort! I was feeling like quite the smarty pants for a brief moment. By the way, I am thinking that cutting down unwanted plants is the way to go. Last fall, my daughter and I pulled a big patch of Obedient plant (oh, the irony!) and the damn patch came back this year bigger than last!! It greatly decreased my own large patch of bee balm.
My canadian thistle has finally disappeared after consistently spraying it with straight white vinegar for a couple of days and a couple of seasons. Works best on sunny days. The plants wilt and die within 24-48 hours. Like throwing water on the witch! (For me cutting them down just seemed to encourage the spread the next year. Apparently the roots have an amazing system of regeneration after cutting. )