Weeding is a quintessential part of gardening, whether it be vegetable or ornamental or nature’s garden, for invasive species.
In sensitive sites, the best recommendation is usually to simply hand-pull the undesirable plant.
When it comes to species like field bindweed and Canada thistle, this recommendation comes with a lot of laborious hours spent on all fours teasing roots from the ground that will inevitably come back as the plants form a clonal colony and can have roots up to 30 feet long. That means that they have a lot of root reserves to feed aboveground growth, and you may have decades of weeding ahead of you.
In other cases, you may be managing a huge infestation of noxious weeds around a commodity that you want to protect and hand-pulling is not an option, and disking or tilling would also hurt the desirable species you want to keep.
In these situations, herbicides can be used judiciously to decrease the coverage of weeds and increase space available for the desirable species. The first step is to determine which areas need treated carefully and what level of nontarget damage is acceptable. If no nontarget damage is acceptable, you can use Solo cups or cardboard to create a physical barrier between the weed and the plant you want to keep. It’s important that these barriers get discarded and not reused after the application.
Not all herbicides are created equal, as some have a longer residual and can be taken up via the roots of nearby plants. In sensitive sites, use herbicides that have a short soil residual to prevent damage after the application. It’s important to also consider the volatility of a product and the temperature of the day you will be applying it so the product does not evaporate and damage nearby plants.
As always when using an herbicide, read the label; it’s the law.
Other sensitive sites can include: around trees, riparian areas, drainages, etc. For these some of the same precautions can be used and, if applying near water, make sure that the product label permits such use.
Archuleta County Weed and Pest is your local resource for managing noxious weed populations and controlling other pests.
Be Prepared for an
Emergency workshop
There will be a Be Prepared for an Emergency workshop with Cindi Galabota, CSU Extension director; Lacy Capre, Archuleta County Public Health outreach specialist; and guests on Nov. 8 at 10 a.m. at the CSU Extension building at 344 U.S. 84.
This free workshop will cover the best practices for preparing for and recovery from winter emergencies.
Women in Ag conference
The third annual Women In Ag state conference — “A Climate of Resilience” — will take place on Nov. 13 and 14 at the La Plata County Fairgrounds.
This is an engaging and empowering event focused on educational opportunities and networking for women across the state involved in all types of agriculture, from small farms and nontraditional agriculture to large cow-calf ranches.
Save the date
Save the date: There will be a CSU Extension Open House on Nov. 18 from 5 to 7 p.m. Meet our team and learn how we can help you and help our community.
CPR and first aid classes
CPR and first aid certification classes are offered every other month at the CSU Extension office, generally on the third Monday and Wednesday from 6 to 10 p.m. The cost for the classes is $80 for combined CPR/first aid and $55 for CPR, first aid or recertification. Call the Extension office at (970) 264-5931 to register.
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