wild buckwheat

[Sue]

Hello-I'm new here. I've been gardening in Connecticut for quite a while now, mostly flowers etc. and had quite a successful season thanks to all the rain in the spring. We also rather casually cultivate a large patch of raspberries which are grown organically, and have a PYO little business. We didn't have much of a July crop, again thanks to all of the rain, but are looking forward to the Sep-Oct. crop. I went out to the patch today and to my horror find that we are infested with wild buckwheat (identified through some research. It's not bindweed). I spent some time pulling the noxious weed out of some rows (while castigating myself that the situation had gotten to such a point) and now I'm wondering if anyone out there has dealt with this invasion. According to research, it can be killed with flamethrowers and heavy applications of herbicide (which would do in the raspberries also). It does strike me that this plant would make a wonderful groundcover/ugly eyesore cover but doesn't belong in polite society or in rows of raspberries. Any experience/thoughts? Thanks! Sue

[Butzmark]

I use tame buckwheat as a groundcover. A light frost will kill it. It's easy to till under. If it goes to seed it will come up again quickly.

[Kay Lancaster]

If what you have is Polygonum convolvulus, black bindweed, (I know various species of our native Eriogonum as "wild buckwheat"), it's a late-germinating annual. Watch for it to come up, and chop it off with a hoe. Get it young enough and you only have to scuffle the soil.

Add mulch. Good weed suppressant, and the raspberries will like it too.

And forget about flamethrowers. Definitely overkill.

Kay (I know various species of our native Eriogonum as "wild buckwheat"), it's a late-germinating annual. Watch for it to come up, and chop it off with a hoe. Get it young enough and you only have to scuffle the soil.

Add mulch. Good weed suppressant, and the raspberries will like it too.

And forget about flamethrowers. Definitely overkill.

Kay (I know various species of our native Eriogonum as "wild buckwheat"), it's a late-germinating annual. Watch for it to come up, and chop it off with a hoe. Get it young enough and you only have to scuffle the soil.

Add mulch. Good weed suppressant, and the raspberries will like it too.

And forget about flamethrowers. Definitely overkill.

Kay (I know various species of our native Eriogonum as "wild buckwheat"), it's a late-germinating annual. Watch for it to come up, and chop it off with a hoe. Get it young enough and you only have to scuffle the soil.

Add mulch. Good weed suppressant, and the raspberries will like it too.

And forget about flamethrowers. Definitely overkill.

Kay (I know various species of our native Eriogonum as "wild buckwheat"), it's a late-germinating annual. Watch for it to come up, and chop it off with a hoe. Get it young enough and you only have to scuffle the soil.

Add mulch. Good weed suppressant, and the raspberries will like it too.

And forget about flamethrowers. Definitely overkill.

Kay (I know various species of our native Eriogonum as "wild buckwheat"), it's a late-germinating annual. Watch for it to come up, and chop it off with a hoe. Get it young enough and you only have to scuffle the soil.

Add mulch. Good weed suppressant, and the raspberries will like it too.

And forget about flamethrowers. Definitely overkill.

Kay (I know various species of our native Eriogonum as "wild buckwheat"), it's a late-germinating annual. Watch for it to come up, and chop it off with a hoe. Get it young enough and you only have to scuffle the soil.

Add mulch. Good weed suppressant, and the raspberries will like it too.

And forget about flamethrowers. Definitely overkill.

Kay (I know various species of our native Eriogonum as "wild buckwheat"), it's a late-germinating annual. Watch for it to come up, and chop it off with a hoe. Get it young enough and you only have to scuffle the soil.

Add mulch. Good weed suppressant, and the raspberries will like it too.

And forget about flamethrowers. Definitely overkill.

Kay (I know various species of our native Eriogonum as "wild buckwheat"), it's a late-germinating annual. Watch for it to come up, and chop it off with a hoe. Get it young enough and you only have to scuffle the soil.

Add mulch. Good weed suppressant, and the raspberries will like it too.

And forget about flamethrowers. Definitely overkill.

Kay

[Sue]

[Kay Lancaster]

Don't worry... there's plenty more seeds in the soil already.

Seriously, a good, thick light-occlusive mulch is your friend. My favorite one-season utility mulch is corrugated cardboard, but just about anything that's not going to stop water but is thick enough to stop light (dried grass clippings are great -- 4-6") will help keep down the weeds.

Don't forget you can compost weeds, too... just need to make sure the compost gets up to seed-killing temps,

If you're dealing with ground that can be cleared for a season (obviously not your raspberry patch!), consider "solarizing" the area with clear plastic to help reduce the weed seed load in the upper soil.

Kay