Don't pull garlic mustard

[Mad Professor]

It's a biennial and easy to pick out the two year old plants in the spring by their white flowers.

Pulling up by the roots works best but two cuttings at first flowering and weeks later for missed survivors depletes the seed bank.

Has worked on my property.

 

[cookies]

Sometimes it is better to control the environment to get rid of problematic invasive species such as adjusting soil ph or sun/shade until it stresses them into growth remission.

 

[Seachaser]

At the same time part of his solution is to kill deer which may not be possible for logistical, moral or legal reasons.

Most state DNR are way behind the 8 ball on the deer issue. Several decades lagging behind the problem is taking its toll. Farmers around here kill hundreds each summer and can’t make dent in the population. I’ve lost a lot of respect to our DNR over the years. I can manage my deer herd better than they can from their ivory towers.

 

[capetrees]

Most state DNR are way behind the 8 ball on the deer issue. Several decades lagging behind the problem is taking its toll. Farmers around here kill hundreds each summer and can’t make dent in the population. I’ve lost a lot of respect to our DNR over the years. I can manage my deer herd better than they can from their ivory towers.

Fact is, "they" don't manage anything. Hunters manage by way of licenses and seasons and doe permits. The people at the DNR or similar aganecys in each state don't actually do anything to control the population other than make regs and check your license.

 

[capetrees]

There are certainly smarter (and dumber) ways to use it but it is not simply as (non)toxic as say clean water or air.

so you use clean water and air to cure the problem of garlic mustard ?

 

[slowp]

Goats.

 

[ChuckMI]

Goats.

Goats are no more selective than glyphosate. They will probably eat the same native plants that the deer eat and leave the garlic mustard.

 

[HavinFun]

It's a biennial and easy to pick out the two year old plants in the spring by their white flowers.

Pulling up by the roots works best but two cuttings at first flowering and weeks later for missed survivors depletes the seed bank.

Has worked on my property.

MadP has it right. At least cut the flowers off and there are no more seeds to drop into the seed bank. I’ve pulled it when it first flowers in an area and it doesn’t return. Roots need to go into trash bags and trash due to toxic root chemicals as mentioned.
Roundup - bag of worms here. I don’t like using it, but it is effective and the only hope of control against some invasives. The PPE required by the government is printed on all the chemicals used in horticulture. For round up it’s suggested to wear trousers, long sleeve shirt, shoes, and a dust mask. No moonsuits required. The lawyers “proved”to the jury that it causes lymphoma and collected at least $3.3B, yes B, for themselves out of the $10B settlement. These great souls also proved OJ’s innocence. I use it properly when needed. If we do nothing to try and stop the invasives, we know who surely will win. I’ll continue to eradicate garlic mustard on the others when they appear on my properties.

 

[ATH]

I've always heard it should be pulled as well. That's why when i saw the article I shared it (3 years ago...) because it was new information.

I will say I've seen less garlic mustard in the woods the last few years after it seemingly was taking over everything - so maybe there is something to the research that found reduced biomass with time.

 

[Mad Professor]

You have to pull it several years in a row.

1 year old plants will blossom the following year, and not all seeds germinate the first year dropped. AT LEAST a 3 year window

 

[diver64]

I hate invasive species. I used to mow acres of Garlic Mustard every year, it seemed like it was nearly impossible to get under control. I didn’t know it was self-limiting.

I just started a job that’s Kudzu abatement. Kudzu is not self limiting. Seems like the best method is to take a mulcher and take it a few inches below ground level, which cuts off the sunlight to the runners and the rest of the vine & kills it. From there it’s just cleanup.

You can eat kudzu. It's not bad.

 

[Mad Professor]

You can eat kudzu. It's not bad.

You can eat garlic mustard too.

 

[kenmbz]

Here it's Stiltgrass that is wrecking the woods.

4 years ago, none in site, now the deer track it through the woods, it grows tall, then falls over in the winter blocking everything else but multiflora rose, berries and autumn olive.

Nasty stuff.

The mustard garlic showed up a few years back and even though I went on a rampage , ridding it from everywhere I could find it last year. This year it came back in twice the numbers.

 

[buzz sawyer]

Roundup has been proven to cause non-Hodgkins lymphoma.

Can you cite some recent studies to support this? Best I've found so far is that it is still "linked to" but not "proven to cause. "

 

[buzz sawyer]

You can eat kudzu. It's not bad.

Gotta be better than kale.

 

[diver64]

A

Gotta be better than kale.

And arugula