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Post by Deleted on May 20, 2015 16:05:57 GMT
    Over the past 11 years, I have unfortunately got quite a lot of experience with quack grass. It might not be too hard to deal with if you just have a little here and there but if your entire property, and your neighbors' entire property, has been deliberately planted with quack grass (AKA "witch grass"), gardening is very much a challenge. It's a cool season perennial - meaning it starts growing while it's still cold out and doesn't go into its short hibernation until it's covered in snow. You can't till it under or dig it out by hand - there is a sold mat of fibrous runners underneath it and every little bit of runner that you don't get out will sprout grass, which will make more runners. It also spreads from seed. I can't even imagine how much round up we'd go through trying to keep it at bay. The only way we've found we can garden is to cover the entire area with black plastic, cover the plastic with mulch, and leave it for a year - then start planting through holes. I have this area that I've had covered with black plastic and mulch for over a years and I just peeled it back and want to show you how far the runners spread and what happens if you dig your holes too close to the edge. I thought there was a way to insert images here directly from the computer.... Anyway, so far the furthest runner I've found has spread 51 inches under the mulch-covered plastic, and it's still alive. I dug some planting holes less than 51 inches from the edge and they rapidly filled with quack grass and gave it a new "base" to spread out from - so any hole within 51 inches of that hole can get filled with it. On the bright side....you can make a tea out of the runners. It's effective at treating urinary tract infections. And it makes great hay - which is why it was planted here to begin with. |
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Post by Callie on May 20, 2015 16:17:27 GMT
I thought quack grass and bermuda were two different enemies of the garden. What we call quack grass here has a little nut-like bulb in the ground that it grows from. The leaves are slick and Round-up doesn't stick well.
Unfortunately, I'm also familiar with you fight. I moved and that got rid of both.
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Post by Deleted on May 20, 2015 16:24:49 GMT
I thought quack grass and bermuda were two different enemies of the garden. What we call quack grass here has a little nut-like bulb in the ground that it grows from. The leaves are slick and Round-up doesn't stick well. Unfortunately, I'm also familiar with you fight. I moved and that got rid of both. IDK.....mine doesn't have a little nut like bulb and I thought it was quack grass. It's awful, that's for sure!! |
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Post by paquebot on May 21, 2015 1:04:41 GMT
The quack grass with a bulb isn't quack and isn't grass. It's a sedge and it is correct that Roundup is not effective on it. If it's a problem, there is a specific herbicide just for sedges and will not kill grass.
If you have a quack problem, spray it with bleach. May not kill all of the roots but will make it sick enough so that a followup application may be fatal.
Martin
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Post by Deleted on May 21, 2015 2:01:01 GMT
I have tons of that stuff. I am really not all that fond of it, I've pulled up runners longer than I am tall. We also have a garage that is 38' x 42' and we generally get some coming up through a crack right down the middle of the floor. I didn't know it would make good hay. Nothing here eats it. The cows will only eat til the other grasses come up in early spring. After that, nada, goats don't like it and the neighbors horses don't eat it. "Not that fond of that......" kind of like I'm not that fond of axe murderers  Yeah I guess a lot of people deliberately plant it for hay. I guess cows eat it - or so it says on the internet, and everything on the internet is true  My neighbor's horses eat it. |
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Post by Deleted on May 21, 2015 2:23:25 GMT
The quack grass with a bulb isn't quack and isn't grass. It's a sedge and it is correct that Roundup is not effective on it. If it's a problem, there is a specific herbicide just for sedges and will not kill grass. If you have a quack problem, spray it with bleach. May not kill all of the roots but will make it sick enough so that a followup application may be fatal. Martin I will DEFINITELY try that |
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Post by bowdonkey on May 21, 2015 10:33:11 GMT
We have a similar grass here called canary or reed canary grass. Very aggresive. Forms mats so thick most small endloaders can't dig into the ground. This stuff strangles everything. Only Roundup knocks it back and only temporarily. A 6-7 foot circle of Roundup killed canary grass will fill back in and kill a pine seedling planted in the center. Impossible to keep out of the raspberry rows for very long. Makes maintenance an on going pain in the rear.
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Post by whisperwindkat on May 21, 2015 10:43:24 GMT
We've always called in Bermuda, but whatever it is....I hate it with a passion. It is impossible to get rid of because the runners are so bloody long. I gave up long ago and now just try to keep it under control.
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Post by grillbilly on May 21, 2015 12:19:46 GMT
The quack grass with a bulb isn't quack and isn't grass. It's a sedge and it is correct that Roundup is not effective on it. If it's a problem, there is a specific herbicide just for sedges and will not kill grass. If you have a quack problem, spray it with bleach. May not kill all of the roots but will make it sick enough so that a followup application may be fatal. Martin Full strength or diluted bleach? Thanks! |
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Post by farmchix on May 21, 2015 12:34:10 GMT
We have quack grass and a new-found friend that has leaves similar to a marigold. I think it came in the mulch. I have put down black lawncloth as an extreme measure to rid myself of it. I still have a nice hearty crop this year. Since we are in contract to sell our house, it just became someone else's problem. (with my luck, I will have plentiful amounts at the new place) LOL
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Post by Cabin Fever on May 21, 2015 13:44:38 GMT
Bermuda grass is "Cynodon dactylon"
Witch grass is "Panicum capillare"
Quackgrass is "Elymus repens"
Quackgrass fertilized with nitrogen and cut at the right stage can have a protein content nearing 25%.
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Post by Cabin Fever on May 21, 2015 13:46:41 GMT
We have . . . a new-found friend that has leaves similar to a marigold. This is probably ragweed. |
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Post by paquebot on May 21, 2015 13:55:05 GMT
The quack grass with a bulb isn't quack and isn't grass. It's a sedge and it is correct that Roundup is not effective on it. If it's a problem, there is a specific herbicide just for sedges and will not kill grass. If you have a quack problem, spray it with bleach. May not kill all of the roots but will make it sick enough so that a followup application may be fatal. Martin Full strength or diluted bleach? Thanks! Full strength, right out of the bottle. Spray only on what you want killed and don't try to saturate the area. It is highly alkaline. I used it on some bindweed and there must have been a little downwind overspray onto my neighbor's lawn. Oops! Martin |
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Post by farmchix on May 21, 2015 14:11:15 GMT
We have . . . a new-found friend that has leaves similar to a marigold. This is probably ragweed. I will have to take a pic. I know it has runners and is somewhat viney. I pull up as many of the runners as I can, but for every one I pull up, ten come to replace it. I would almost bet money it came in that stupid mulch. |
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Post by Deleted on May 21, 2015 15:07:12 GMT
This is probably ragweed. I will have to take a pic. I know it has runners and is somewhat viney. I pull up as many of the runners as I can, but for every one I pull up, ten come to replace it. I would almost bet money it came in that stupid mulch. I would bet that's frog fruit if it's staying kind of low growing. |
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My neighbor's horses eat it.
