Apropos of Nothing v.12

That's sweet of you pony! I'd love one if you have extras. If not, that's okay. I'm starting some of the D. Coccinea from seed again.

No worries- I got more of that one than I need because I bought some yesterday, then they threw more at me for free today. hehe. I'll try to drop it off sometime this week. :)

Waiting for my D. coccinea to germinate . . .

Hmmmmm.

http://muckabout.typepad.com/mucking_about_a_northwest/2010/05/the-best-slug-control-is-free.html

What, exactly, is a weed round these parts? Everything seems so beautiful. I love all the plants in my acre of milk & honey, even if they seem to spread assiduously. The false lily-of-the-valley, for instance -- need I fear it?

There is one slightly obnoxious, mint-like creature that sprouts before my eyes -- it has an acrid smell like boxwood & leaves that resemble stachys. I could live without it.

Hmmmmmm. I've been tossing my coffee grounds in the compost. Maybe I should scatter them instead- I'm almost out of sluggo. (been going through a ton already this year- the slugs are crazy here!)

Summer, Wish I had a clue... I can't figure out what's a weed and what isn't most of the time. hehe.

They want to know what a weed is, Kathy. You know the ones I'm talking about - they spring up overnight simply everywhere and if they go to seed, they shoot their seeds all over the place. Their delicate little white flower is seductive in its purity. I know you'll remember the name.

Pixy..I don't know the name but I seem to have a zillion of those weeds here this year. Good thing I wear glasses or the popping seeds may have put an eye out. They are pretty..but a royal pain in the you now what!

Shot weed is what I call it.

What a great idea - coffee for slugs control! I'm going to try it.

A FLAME WEEDER!!! Good golly miss Pix. I just can't picture you wielding such a thing...

Pixy, is your flame weeder the small version of the big one? I bought the big one last year, we use it to light our brush pile. Will it work on weeds without torching the house?

Yes, it's the dreaded shotweed (Cardamine oligosperma). It's in the bittercress family. Interestingly, it has some beautiful relatives. http://www.heronswood.com/perennials_cardamine/cardamine-trifolia/

Here's an article on shotweed control: http://www.gardenhelp.org/weeds/weeding/managing-weeds-in-seattle-shotweed/

Same with buttercup (Ranunculus repens). Pretty to some, but a pain to others. And there are some very pretty and much better behaved ones.

The noxious weed:
http://www.kingcounty.gov/environment/animalsAndPlants/noxious-weeds/weed-identification/creeping-buttercup.aspx

The desirable plant:

http://www.heronswood.com/index.cfm/fuseaction/product.detail/_/Ranunculus-Brazen-Hussy/productID/23cc4002-f9da-4404-a4d1-f6493d215112/categoryID/65020317-a56f-474c-bdd6-24854aff1243/

At least the shotweed only reproduces by seed and is relatively easy to pull out. The Ranunculus both reseeds itself and creeps by rhizome. They also are some work to pull out if you have heavy clay. Once spring is over and the soil gets dry you really have to dig them out!

I'm going to borrow my neighbors flam weeder to kill weeds on my gravel drive. If it works well (and I don't set anything on fire), I might get one. It's a great alternative to chemicals and, unlike other chemical solutions, you won't be building plant resistance if you use this, either.

And summer can't have one.^_^

Ooohhhh, shudder. Shotweed and creeping (rampaging) buttercup. Spent the better part of the day digging the ranunculus out of a bank a few weeks ago, and do shotweed patrol every morning. Still I manage to miss enough that they go to seed, and SPROING go the seeds as you pull out the plant.

Dreaming of flame throwers helps!

Cardamine is easily smothered by mulch. Trust me on this - I considered contacting Heronswood to see if they wanted any of the ones I had that were pushing 2'! Certainly they would be considered chichi by someone who would fork out $$$ for a reminder of the little dudes.
No such luck - so mulch it is. And manure, all the better. Easy to pull the little guys, but flaming them works well, too, plus - it's way faster.
Creeping R - one of the worst weeds, along with a few others that, imho, are worse than dandelions.
some have very attractive flowers, but are garden thugs - stealing what is needed by others.
So, I weed & smother with mulch. Early & often.

Yeah - good point, Willow. :-)

Kate, I too found that mulch really does help with the Cardamine - but the Ranunculus just feeds on it, I think. That stuff is tough! It peeks through carboard and around rocks. I think it's funny that Heronswood is living on the edge and charging a high price for it.

Kim, love the term "shotweed patrol". I find that I tend to reach down and pull it up no matter whose garden I'm in. So far I haven't had any home owners come yelling at me to stop, so I'll keep on patrolling. It would be soothing if there weren't so many other things to do.

Aaaaack- shotweed. I am always fighting that little nuisance. There's no escape- it turns up everywhere.

Pixy, can you bring your flame thrower on the 16th and give us all a demo? I've been wanting one for the longest time, but would really love to see one in action. I know it would spur me on to get my own.

I'm probably not the only person who would love a demo.

And, altho we may have to search a bit*, I think we can find a weed or two to try it on! ;)


* Like open your car door and take a step out.

I would gladly trade my creeping ranunculus for any other weed I've come across... I think it's the white tentacle roots - they're more like animals than plants.... At least you can eat shotweed (aka wild/bitter cress) and dandelions (the leaves are thought to be an aphrodisiac and the roots supposedly make a good coffee substitute) - stinging nettle (which I have an abundance of this year) can also be eaten and treats all manner of disorders and people buy horsetail at GNC, silly people.... But creeping buttercup, what is it good for? I just know it must be hiding within its chemistry, the secret of invincibility!

Wow - what a storm it is out there right now - lights flickering too.....

Buttercup is probably my most hated. (I'm just dying to try out Pixy's flame thrower on them!)

I have these berry plant that run a close second. They're not like blackberries, which I don't mind too much, at least you get edible berries! These have HUGE thick stalks and roots and go for miles. They have pretty purple flowers....looks are so deceiving. And they grow to about 5000 feet high overnight.

Really? Downtown is so calm. Hope this one blows over soon.

I haven't tried to make coffee from Dandelions, though I know it was first brought to this country as a food crop.

Gwen, are you talking about Salmonberry (Rubus spectabilis)? I did find this weekend that even fresh bushes make the best tinder for starting fires . . .

http://green.kingcounty.gov/gonative/Plant.aspx?Act=view&PlantID=34

Funny, this article says that they are fire-resistant . . .

It's very windy here. So windy that I don't feel safe being outside, for fear of projectile branches coming at me. Sometimes when it's windy, it dies down in the late afternoon, so I'm hoping for that. I'd love to get out there for another couple hours today. I was out earlier before the wind picked up and it was nice.

Yes, I'm pretty sure it's salmon berry. Had to laugh at the category 'growing ease' and it said 'high.' That's an understatement!

It also has some of the nastiest thorns you'll ever see.

I personally don't care for the taste of the berries.

The berries don't have much sugar . . .

I actually don't think the thorns are so bad. Wonder if mine are just that much different from yours. In the spring and fall when it's wet (and cold, unfortunately) is when these come out the best. In my case, about 60% of them will rip out with elbow grease and minimal digging. It's a pain, though, as the runners criss-cross eachother and anchor themselves on and under other roots and rocks.

As for the other 40%: I have several "mother plants" that are waiting on me to dig them out. I broke a shovel handle on one of them. It's almost like digging out a mature camellia or lilac.

But I am making headway on the back of the yard. Unfortunately, the stand of salmonberry on my neighbor's property just adjacent to the front of my yard is about 3 times the size it was two years ago. Argh!

I think my problem is that I only have mother plants! LOL

It's so freakin' windy here! I was just out running errands, and darn near got blown off my feet several times. Sheesh. It isn't November, is it?

Gwen, I sympathize. Keep an eye on mom, though, because she'll slowly keep adding babies when you're not looking.

I get to cross the I-520 floating bridge on the way home tonight. Yippee (not). I just hope it doesn't mess up traffic too much.

It was just sunny and hailing here.

Gotta love the PNW. o.0

Willow, I started a job today. The bad part was that I had to be there at 9 a.m. but ... it got progressively better -- the training manager used to run some sort of porn-slash-Celtic goods store; I got accidentally sprayed with whipped cream in the walk-in cooler, and the training ended with, "Are you ready for the beer-tasting now?"

I'm, like, in delirious heaven. And getting paid for it!!! So yeah .... probably you should keep portable objects that spew fire out of my sticky hands for the moment ....

Summer, where are you working? Sounds like fun! (Ex for that pesky 9am part)

Muahahahaha! I did it! I went to Pixy's house and came home empty-handed! Finally! :D

(of course, she wasn't home, but still... LOL!)

McMenamins here in Lincoln City, Gwen.

Seriously, now that I'm done with the serious part of my life, it's my dream job. Full-time benefits for part-time work, horsing around with slacker kids. Plus, I'm shockingly good as a waitress, go figure; the customers absolutely love me.

Oh, and my dollar deposit credited before that debit charge, so yay for West Coast Bank!!! I'll just wear a disguise while doing my banking from now on.

Sounds like a great job, Summer. Congratulations! :)

Congratulations on the job. Sounds super. I used to love being a waitress too. In the late 50's, Victorville, CA, George AirForce Base nearby. Now that was fun!

Thanks! And I have 91 cents in my checking account instead of minus 9 cents. Who WOULDN'T want to be me?!

I LOVE McMenamins! I've been to several. We stay at the one in Forest Grove all the time. Can't beat those $40 rooms. We also like the free movies where you eat and drink while watching a movie. Not mention all the bars.

That would be a fun job!

Yeah, I thought I was done with serious jobs too. But now with 2 kids in college, have to go back to court reporting...

That sounds like interesting work, Gwen.

Hey - for those of you who have been looking for Fuji Waterfall Hydrangea . . . when we were talking about this Hydrangea a year or so ago it was very hard to find. Someone on the Hydrangea thread said that she'd found it at Whole Foods for very little.

There are a lot of places now to find it, but it's not cheap. Molbak's was selling it a couple of months ago for $50 for a gallon pot (or maybe even more!).

So . . . run, don't walk to your nearest QFC. There are lots of these beauties for $19.99 . . .

http://www.estabrooksonline.com/images/highres/fuji_waterfall.jpg