+MercRocks Posted March 30, 2003 Share Posted March 30, 2003 My contribution is Knapweedknapweed. It takes over native grasses quite easily..VERY INVASIVE. The technique I use is to place feet on each side and gently pull. I try not to disturb the soil as each plant drops thousands of seeds. Dispose of by bagging and landfilling. There is light at the end of the tunnel when battling this weed. I've been pulling a patch in my yard for 5 years now..Year 1 overflowing 45 gal bag..year 2 full bag..year 3 half bag..year 4 quarter bag...year 5 hardly any...So please familiarize yourself with your local invasive weeds and help save your native grasses. Pull as You Go! Without your brain, a map is a piece of coloured paper, a compass is a glorified magnet, and a GPS is a waterproof battery case." " FSAR " Quote Link to comment
+MissJenn Posted March 30, 2003 Share Posted March 30, 2003 Another invasive weed is garlic mustard. Clicking on the link takes you to another thread in the General section. ----- You must be present to win. Quote Link to comment
+Planet Posted March 30, 2003 Share Posted March 30, 2003 Always rinse down your boat and make it weed free before putting it in another lake, pond, stream. To prevent the spread of Millefoil, and other invasive water weeds, along with Zebra mussels and those water fleas. Don't bring water from a bait bucket from one water source to another. Cache you later, Planet I feel much more like I do now than when I first got here. Quote Link to comment
+ErSamin Posted April 2, 2003 Share Posted April 2, 2003 In our area of the country one of the worst is Star Thistle. Ask any single trak mountain biker who has ever biffed into the stuff. Horrible invasive stuff with sturdy, spiky thorns circling an innocent looking yellow flower. Yuck! "Could be worse...could be raining" Quote Link to comment
+Newenglandah Posted April 23, 2003 Share Posted April 23, 2003 I know there is a vine in the southeast that is taken over -I belive the spelling of it is Kudzoo --this stuff grews rapidly on a daily bases ---like 6 to 12 inches a day>>> I believe it was an imported vine from an Asian Country that just took off........ Found the cache but where is that damm GPS? See You In the Woods!!! Natureboy1376 Quote Link to comment
+JBzHOW Posted April 23, 2003 Share Posted April 23, 2003 Here's a good kudzu link -The Amazing Story of Kudzu and another -http://www.jjanthony.com/kudzu/ I guess they don't have this stuff in other parts of the country...yet. I've got a cache where you might hack a path through the kudzu in the summer and it'll be grown back together on your way out. Scary stuff but it actually has it's beneficial uses. Quote Link to comment
+Newenglandah Posted April 23, 2003 Share Posted April 23, 2003 Man thats stuff is crazy...I would love to get some for a house plant --I would never let it see the outside, but to watch that stuff grow as a house plant would be neat.... Every time i cache i say i need a second job, everytime i apply for a job i realize there will be no time to cache??? See You In the Woods!!! Natureboy1376 Quote Link to comment
+Kouros Posted April 24, 2003 Share Posted April 24, 2003 There's a problem in the UK with Japanese Knotweed which is pretty nasty stuff. ------ An it harm none, do what ye will Quote Link to comment
+SimonG Posted April 24, 2003 Share Posted April 24, 2003 quote:Originally posted by Kouros:There's a problem in the UK with Japanese Knotweed Well if it's not weed, what is it? SimonG.org - now with added blog! Quote Link to comment
+Kouros Posted April 24, 2003 Share Posted April 24, 2003 quote:Originally posted by SimonG: quote:There's a problem in the UK with Japanese Knotweed Well if it's not weed, what is it? Dunno... Japanese? ------ An it harm none, do what ye will Quote Link to comment
+trippy1976 Posted April 25, 2003 Share Posted April 25, 2003 Several parks in this area run invasive specied pulls periodically. Some cachers I know have gone and helped pull the garlic mustard. It sounds tasty... why doesn't anyone like it -------- trippy1976 - Team KKF2A Saving geocaches - one golf ball at a time. Quote Link to comment
dsandbro Posted May 16, 2003 Share Posted May 16, 2003 My vote is for the Yellow Starthistle previously mentioned. Experts have noted half-jokingly there are only two methods to deal with starthistle once it gets established on your property -- Sell the land and move away, or use a tactical nuke. ======================================== "The time has come" the Walrus said "to speak of many things; of shoes and ships and sealing wax, of cabbages and Kings". Quote Link to comment
+smithdw Posted June 3, 2003 Share Posted June 3, 2003 Here in Oregon there has been several places that have been invaded with Giant Hogweed. This is some info: Giant Hogweed is originally from Asia and was introduced as an ornamental. A member of the parsley family, its most impressive characteristic is its massive size. It reaches a height of 10 to 15 feet when in flower and has hollow stems, 2 to 4 inches in diameter with dark reddish-purple spots and bristles. Coarse white hairs at the base of the leaf stalk are also purplish, and each purple spot surrounds a blister-based hair. The deeply incised compound leaves grow up to 5 feet in width. Giant hogweed flowers mid-May through July, with numerous white flowers clustered in an umbrella-shaped head that is up to 2.5 feet in diameter across its flat top. The plant produces flattened, 3/8-inch long, oval dry fruits that have a broadly rounded base, and broad marginal ridges. Hogweed prefers moist soil and can quickly dominate ravines and stream banks. Giant hogweed is similar in appearance to our native cow parsnip, only it is much larger and the hairs on the under surface of the leaf are shorter (about .25 mm long). Hogweed is a public health hazard. Its clear, watery sap has toxins that cause photo-dermatitis. Skin contact followed by exposure to sunlight produces painful, burning blisters that may develop into purplish or blackened scars. Sounds like something that deserves to die. "The best way to accelerate a Macintosh is at 9.8m/sec/sec." -Marcus Dolengo Quote Link to comment
Aksor+Raskol Posted June 4, 2003 Share Posted June 4, 2003 When you are driving throught the south and see houses, trees, billboards, hillsides, etc. taken over by thick, stringey vines; that's kudzu. The only thing good about it is in August when it flowers, it smells like grape bubble gum. Quote Link to comment
are.we.there.yet? Posted July 13, 2003 Share Posted July 13, 2003 Greetings from the heart of Kudzu country! You have got to see this stuff to believe it...When most of you think of "weeds", you think of stuff a few inches off the ground that chokes the grass. This stuff covers not just the grass, but trees and abandoned barns whole! I laughed at that comment about pulling up weeds! This stuff has roots that go down 30 feet and nothing will kill it...strong herbicides, fires, drought, nothing! Just think, the government used to plant this stuff on purpose for erosion control...that's why you see most of it along roadsides. The only thing that will kill it is taking it away from home...it gets so homesick it just withers away when it gets away from the south and just doesn't grow anywhere else. The lore is priceless...shut your windows at night or the kudzu will grow in the window and steal your kids! Quote Link to comment
+Planet Posted July 13, 2003 Share Posted July 13, 2003 Purple Loosestrife is another invasive plant. it has beautiful flowers and was sold a s a nursery plant until it started choking out the wetlands and was outlawed. Very pretty but kills off cattails and other wetland vegetation that make up wildlife habitats. It is even called a beautiful killer Cache you later, Planet So many caches, so little time. [This message was edited by Planet on July 13, 2003 at 08:43 PM.] Quote Link to comment
+Tiggrr and Mouse Posted July 14, 2003 Share Posted July 14, 2003 Hiya Planet. As a power boater I'm well aware of "choking weeds". We have one group of them on Candlewood lake in southwestern connecticut called "milfoil". It sure is a pain to boaters, skiers and swimmers in the late summer!! Sure wish it was NEVER introducted to our beautiful lake so when some environmentalists tout the "natural beauty" of the "wild plants" my urge is to take them for a water skiing trip. Quote Link to comment
+Renegade Knight Posted July 15, 2003 Share Posted July 15, 2003 When do you give up and call the invasive weed native? I'm thinking Dandilions qualify by now. Quote Link to comment
+Newenglandah Posted July 16, 2003 Share Posted July 16, 2003 WHOOOOOOOO after seeing this post here I decided to look up non-native invasive plants in New England and there is a whole slou of them. check out the listings of them here. New England Wild Flower Soc. Not trying to spam the board but look at the list and being a big group of people that are always in the woods maybe we can pitch in on removing some of these.. NOSEEUMS--High Protein Low Calorie unpacked trail snacks!!!! See You In the Woods!!! Natureboy1376 Quote Link to comment
+edscott Posted July 17, 2003 Share Posted July 17, 2003 We can give up and say they are here to stay, but they can't become "native" if they aren't. Some have blended into our ecosystems with little problem (white clover for example) and some may have even done some good, but the water hyacinth, kudzu, crown vetch, etc will be problems for years. Quote Link to comment
+the Tribe of Two Posted July 17, 2003 Share Posted July 17, 2003 In my job at a Nature Center, I see non-native plant species appear every year. Most new arrivals grow one or two years and then die off; the ones that survive can become horrific, choking out native species. They arrive here several ways- floods bring them in, birds spread the seeds, and they sprout next to the hiking trails. We could be careful about cleaning mud off our shoes and hitch-hiking seeds off our clothes before leaving an area, so that the seeds of problem species don't move to a new area or go back home with us. I think geocachers pulling up Sericea lespedeza, wistaria, and other evil invaders is a GREAT idea! Quote Link to comment
+WaldenRun Posted July 18, 2003 Share Posted July 18, 2003 This has been going on for a long time. There was an invasive species that came over from Europe centuries ago. Ask the native Americans what was on those boats that spread out and took over most of their land. -WR "Besides physical caches, we have VIRTUal and VIRTUeless." Quote Link to comment
+Renegade Knight Posted July 18, 2003 Share Posted July 18, 2003 quote:Originally posted by WaldenRun:This has been going on for a long time. There was an invasive species that came over from Europe centuries ago. Ask the native Americans what was on those boats that spread out and took over most of their land. -WR "Besides physical caches, we have VIRTUal and VIRTUeless." Well hell. Given that I'm pretty sure I'm native by now. Not sure how many generations it takes. Still it's not like I can pack up and go back. Quote Link to comment
+Team GeoCan Posted July 18, 2003 Share Posted July 18, 2003 Weed, Noun,: Any plant that man in his infinite wisdom has decided God was an idiot for putting it where it is. Trash-out, EVERYtime Quote Link to comment
+MercRocks Posted July 19, 2003 Author Share Posted July 19, 2003 "A weed is nothing but an unloved flower" Ella Wheeler Wilson To bad , but it still has to go... Without your brain, a map is a piece of coloured paper, a compass is a glorified magnet, and a GPS is a waterproof battery case." " Foothills SAR " Quote Link to comment
+Doc-Dean Posted August 7, 2003 Share Posted August 7, 2003 Jeez... now I gotta look out for invading weeds too!!! Cache in - weed out?? --------------------------------------------------- Free your mind and the rest will follow Quote Link to comment
+MercRocks Posted August 10, 2003 Author Share Posted August 10, 2003 quote:Jeez... now I gotta look out for invading weeds too!!! No, just be aware of weeds and their seeds... Check your boot treads for anything sticking, your pant cuffs, socks, etc... The little buggers are very adapt at hitchhiking... Without your brain, a map is a piece of coloured paper, a compass is a glorified magnet, and a GPS is a waterproof battery case." " Foothills SAR " Quote Link to comment
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