Weeds

It's that time of year.  Even though we haven't had much rain, the spring weeds and grasses have still gone wild.  And so, the age old question gets asked:  How do we deal with it?

One property's forage is another's weed issue 

Big Ag's solution to weed issues is to spray with something commercially strong, like Professional Strength Round-Up.  This usually results in a feisty disagreement (aka an argument) between us, as I don't believe in using commercial herbicides.  True, their manufacturers claim they carry a low mammalian risk ("low" is not the same thing as non-existent, however), but they are also known endocrine disruptors for mammals.  And the chickens, the frogs and toads which live on our property are all non-mammals, and are therefore even more vulnerable to its effects.  It's simply not worth the risk.

This afternoon, after the rain was over, I went out with a Hula Hoe and tried to knock some of the ones in our back yard down, but could not do it.  The hoe started to pull up the landscape fabric the former owner has put throughout the back yard, which is rapidly shredding and is therefore less effective against blocking weed growth.  I didn't want to shred it anymore and worsen the problem, so away went the Hula Hoe. 

Two options I'm considering are using a small propane garden torch, which appeals to the latent arsonist in me (Fire!  Fun!) plus offers me the feeling of payback when the star thistle that scratched my calves so badly disappears in a pull of smoke.  The other option is a 20% solution of vinegar, called horticultural vinegar, which is safe for organic gardens as well as for domestic and wild animals to come in contact with.  

Another option is to just weed whack it all down until summer comes, when anyplace we've not irrigated will become so dry nothing can survive.  We killed a whole lawn that way last summer.

Either way, it's on.  Me against the weeds.  If you don't hear from me for three days, please send out a search party ... and have them load up the garden propane torches when they come looking for me.  Things are ugly out there, I'm tellin' ya.  I have the scratched calves to prove it.