Weeds

Weeds

How to Grow: Stopping Invasive Plants

Learn about invasive plants, including how to stop their spread. Listen to podcast: We all enjoy the sweet smell of honeysuckle flowers in spring, the purple colors of loosestrife in summer, and the red glow of burning bush leaves in autumn. However, all three of these plants are considered exotic invasives in Vermont. So why should we care that these plants have invaded our ecosystems? Well, even though plants do naturally spread over time, exotic invasives spread quickly reducing biodiversity, choking out native plants, and becoming a...

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PodcastVinesWeeds

How to Grow: Controlling Poison Ivy

Learn about poison ivy, including the best and safest ways to control it. Listen to podcast: For as long as I can remember, each summer I get some amount of poison ivy rash. Poison ivy is best identified by the “leaves of three, let them be," rhyme. It grows as an aggressive ground cover and up trees. I once saw a whole tree enveloped in poison ivy vines. I stayed away! It’s best to avoid contact with leaves, stems and roots since the chemical urushiol can stay active for months on clothes, tools and machinery. So how do you eliminate...

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Garden Design & CareGarden MaintenanceVegetableVideosWeeds

How to Grow: Caring For a Vegetable Garden

Learn how to care for your vegetable garden in summer. This video includes information on fertilizing, thinning root crops, and watering your vegetables. For more garden videos, check out the National Gardening Association Transcript Hi I'm Charlie Nardozzi of the National Gardening Association, today I'd like to talk to you about maintaining the vegetable garden. You know we spend a lot of time and energy building the soil and planting seeds and transplants in spring. But often by midsummer we forget about the vegetable garden. We really...

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Weeds

How to Grow: Organic Weed Control

Learn about controlling weeds and caring for your vegetable and flower garden. This podcast and video includes information on organic sprays, tools, and the best weeding techniques. For more garden videos, check out the National Gardening Association Learn about organic weed control including information on sprays and cultivating techniques. Listen to Podcast: Ben Franklin once said, “A man of words and not of deeds, is like a garden full of weeds.” Yes, with all the rain lately, weeds are having a hay day! Controlling them can be the bane...

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Garden MaintenanceWeeds

How to Grow: Controlling Perennial Weeds

Learn about the best organic controls for perennial weeds in the garden. Listen to podcast: While annual weeds such as chickweed, lamb's quarters and pigweed have many control options, including eating them, perennial weeds really only have one; tenacity. Japanese knotweed, quack grass, horsetail and gout weed are some perennial weeds that plague Vermont gardens. These weeds are specially adapted to survive. They've the ability to form new plants along their roots, so even if you pull out 99% of the plant, what's left behind in the soil...

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AnnualsPerennialsPodcastWeeds

How to Grow: Wildflower Meadows

Listen to this podcast on how to care for a wildflower meadow. It takes just one look outside to know what time of year it is. The goldenrod, Queen Anne's lace, and asters are blooming, so it must be late summer moving into fall. There's been a lot of attention on planting gardens for pollinating insects and butterflies. It seems like we've had a bevy of Monarchs and other butterflies this year in our garden. While creating a planted wildflower garden is a great way to help these creatures and have a beautiful garden, a simpler way to help...

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Garden Design & CareShrubsWeeds

How to Grow: Remove Invasive Shrubs

Learn how to identify and remove invasive shrubs in your landscape I always enjoy watching the birds feast on wild berries this time of year as they head South for winter. While there is an abundance of berry shrubs in the wild, not all of they are good characters. There are a number of invasive shrubs that are spread by birds eating the berries and them pooping out the seeds. These shrubs take over habitats, crowd out natives and make the environment less hospitable for wildlife. The most invasive shrubs in Vermont include Japanese...

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PerennialsWeeds

How to Grow: Control Japanese Knotweed

Learn how to identify and control Japanese knotweed invasive perennial in your landscape   There are invasive weeds and then, there is Japanese knotweed. This weed takes over wetlands, stream banks, roadsides, and moist landscapes, crowding out other plants and destroying habitat. In Japan, knotweed is kept under control by a variety of native insects and diseases. It arrived in North America via Europe in the late 1800s and it's considered invasive in 42 states and 8 Canadian provinces. It grows quickly in spring from underground...

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AnnualsPerennialsVegetableWeeds

How to Grow: Spring Weeding

Listen to this podcast on how to identify and control spring weeds organically. With all the rain, it's been a good year for weeds. Weeds are smart and can give you clues as to what's happening in your soil. For example, plantain thrives on compacted soils, shepherd's purse on acidic soils, horsetail in poorly drained soils and chickweed in high nitrogen soils. Sometimes simply correcting the soil condition will help get rid of the weeds. Check out the book, Weeds and What They Tell. However, even with great soil conditions, you'll still...

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Weeds

How to Grow: Japanese Stiltgrass

  This time of year it's important to be on the look out for weeds in the lawn and garden. One new Asian weed import that's spreading around the state is Japanese stiltgrass. Japanese stiltgrass stands out from common native grasses and lawn grass. It has lime green, 3-inch long tapered leaves. The stems can grow 3-feet tall if unmowed. Japanese stiltgrass grows in many locations, from wooded areas, along stream banks, in lawns, along driveways and in gardens. This annual grass can drop about 100 seeds from each plant and the seeds...

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