Subject: Re: [permaculture] English ivy on site of future forest garden
Date: Fri, 16 Nov 2007 16:19:47 -0500
Mathew,
When I lived near Asheville, NC, the ecovillage I lived in forbade the
planting of ivy, because of its opportunistic ways. I dealt with plenty
of it on the west coast where landscapers considered it a "money plant",
meaning that if a client had ivy there was a guaranteed income in
regularly cutting it back or removing it. It was also a favored habitat
for escargot and banana slugs.
I found that to control it, I had to remove the generally shallow roots
(rarely below 6 inches unless huge) or it would immediately come right
back. To prevent it from reseeding, it pays to kill it off in the tree
canopy (where birds will eat and spread it's seeds) by severing it from
its roots. The vines in the canopy will then die...and not make seed to
feed Cedar Waxwing, Northern Robin, Stellar Jay, Mockingbird, European
Starling, and House Sparrow. Of course, be sure to watch for poison ivy
growing amidst it.
Pigs of course will make short work of it if they're confined to an
infested area long enough to root it out, but be cautious of toxic
effects. Goats, sheep, elk, and deer will eat it but I think it is not a
preferred food...plus they eat just the leaves and not the vines. I read
that 300 goats / acre will eliminate it....that's a lotta goats!
Suppression, by weed-wacking, aggressive mowing / grazing, followed
immediately with heavy plastic mulch can kill it off or at least heavily
suppress it to near the edges of the plastic. Persistence and vigilance
are key words, here. Work from a controlled front.
Running it through a chipper can reduce it enough to compost it safely.
Some folks use glyphosate / Roundup to suppress it, but I wouldn't
recommend it.
I've heard that strong vinegar (stronger than you buy at the grocery
store) sprayed on it will knock it back, too, though I'd be surprised if
that KILLED it.
Use caution with the prunings as they can re-root. I like to leave them
on the driveway until crispy and then mulch with them, whereupon they
rot nicely.
A comparable pernicious vine prevalent locally (Indiana) is Euonymus
radicans (common winter creeper) which shares the same habits as ivy.
Both are ruinous when grown on fences or wooden structures as they can
literally pry boards apart. A brick structure, on the other hand, will
actually benefit and last longer with these vines growing on them.