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  • From: Deb Taft <growbd AT aol.com>
  • To: Market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: [Market-farming] Poison Ivy!
  • Date: Mon, 31 May 2010 19:08:29 -0400


Hi All.

I hope you had as gorgeous a weekend as we did here.

At my new little farm I have just discovered a wealth of poison ivy.  I have a small mowed section where I'm keeping my bees and in the last week the PI has exploded.  I guess it was being kept in-check by all the stuff I just mowed.  I'm also finding bits of it returning in the areas I've cultivated.  It isn't big and woody yet, just tender herbaceous runners.  This gives me some hope that I can get rid of it.

The section isn't huge but I really don't want to take the time to pull it all by hand.  I got such a late start because of the permitting process that I have too much to do without spending days in a hazmat suit pulling the damned stuff.  I'm recovering from my first encounter with it, which resulted in a nasty rash but in a limited area.  I washed with Tecnu as soon as I realized what I had been handling and that seemed to keep it from spreading.

What are your suggestions for eradication?

I've read that horticultural grade vinegar (20% acetic acid) will work but is hard to come by unless you want a 55 gallon drum.  It seems like most web forums eventually end up agreeing that RoundUp is the way to go, since glysophate breaks down readily.  Some sources also recommend Brush-B-Gone, which contains Triclopyr.  Triclopyr has a half-life in soil of 1.1 to 90 days but is "practically non-toxic" to birds, fish, water insects and bees.  Couldn't find anything about its affects on soil biology.

I can't believe I'm even considering these options.

Help!  There must be a better way.

Deb
Mobius Fields
Sleepy Hollow NY






















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