How To Remove Invasive Weeds

I often get asked about removing invasive weeds, the most recent being from Noreen from Marlborough South Island New Zealand, who asked about removing fern bracken and not damaging their soil.

Well, there are several ways to remove invasive weeds, and which ever way you choose, let me say now, be patient, it will take a little time and some work but it CAN be done.

Before you dive in to work on the eyesore invasive weeds have a habit of looking like, pause for thought, what type of weed IS it exactly?

Assessing Your Weed Problem

You should try and identify the weed in question, if books cannot give you the answers, ask anyonewho will listen!

If the weed is really invasive, others in your local vicinity, will have, or have had, the same problem from the same weed, as you, pick their brains.

How, did they deal with the problem? Lets hope some of them used inventive ways of removal and didn’t just use round up!

Look at how your weed grows and reproduces itself. Does it have one huge tapered root with several smaller roots off the main root, like Ink Weed and does it have berries, if so , patience will win the day, keep pulling young shoots out as soon as they grow to a size that you can yank them out, preferably before they go to seed because the birds will spread the seeds far and wide in their poop.

Or does it have an ‘underground system’ of roots like Califorian Thistle, which can stretch for miles under ground.

What is the weeds life cycle? Does it die back in winter and come back stronger in the spring? If, like many thistles, it dies back in the winter, this is the time to tackle your problem and go to war on the pesky thing.

‘Know thy enemy’ This is quite important, some thistles can be ‘grubbed’ or pulled out by the roots when they die back in the winter, others, like the Californain thistle have to be dealt to in another way.

Dealing with Californian Thistle

Because the Californian thistle grows by an extensive underground root system, you will not get any where by pulling them out as the main root system is deep under ground and is very wide spread.

You have to ‘exhaust’ the root system to kill all the roots under ground, to do this, wait until spring and when they start growing, you start cutting them down to ground level, keep this up for as long as they show themselves above ground, eventually they will be exhausted and suddenly be no more.

Dealing with Ferns and Bracken

These kind of weeds are the hard physical work ones to remove, best to divide up the area and literally take a bit at at a time, before you know it, you will have cleared the area and NOT ruined your back.

A word about machines, they, by their nature do more damage to the soil and can make your weed problem worse, not only do they churn up everything in sight, they also cut the roots of invasive weeds to shreds, and if you don’t remove ALL the pieces, your weed problem just got a whole lot worse.

They will grow back everywhere. The way I deal to invasive weeds that have deep roots, like fern bracken or ink weed, is to wait until the winter, and after a few days of good rain, I go out with my fork and dig out the roots, they tend to come away better after rain and intact.

Other Ways of Removal

•    Some experts recommend, covering the offending area with thick black plastic, weight it down and leave for a month or so.  After a time remove the plastic, and you should have bare soil, I have not personally tested this method, and wonder about the really deep rooted invasive weeds.
•    Others, recommend, digging trenches and leaving them exposed to the elements, the idea is for the elements to kill off the weed. I tried this for buttercup and it did not go well, I ended up with more weeds and more buttercups!!

Weeds Have Gone, What Now?
Get out and spread the area with copious amounts of compost, manure and mulch the lot with rotten hay.

Don’t dig anything in, leave it on the surface of the soil, nature will send you earthworms, they will do a better job that you!! Leave the area to rest for at least a week, longer if you can , then plant away!

Concerns About Damaging The Soil

Unfortunately, with some things you cannot help but damage your soil, but with TLC and your herbal ley, it will come back to life better and stronger than before.

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