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Garden Gate:  A couple of gardening questions??  |
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farmmom22
True Blue Farmgirl
616 Posts
Tammy
Scottsville
KY
USA
616 Posts |
 Posted - Feb 02 2009 : 1:01:01 PM
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I have a couple of questions I'm hoping someone will know the answer to!
1. I have a flower bed in the back that is planted with perennials. It gets poision ivy in it every spring. So I was wondering if I burned the flower bed would it hurt the dormant perennials? I wanted to try this to see if it helped to get rid of the poision ivy.
2. I just bought a elephant ear bulb at Lowe's and was wondering if I should try to plant it now or wait till after the last frost? I live in zone 5. If I need to wait, where should I store the bulb?
Thanks, Tammy
Best farm wishes |
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MuslinBunnies
True Blue Farmgirl
113 Posts
Tina
Franklin
NH
USA
113 Posts |
Posted - Feb 03 2009 : 05:09:08 AM
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Hi Tammy,
Whatever you do, DON"T BURN POISON IVY! My dad tried this before I was born and everyone near the fire ended up with poison ivy not only all over their skin, but down their throats and in their lungs. From what I understand, it was not a pleasant experience for anyone involved.
Besides putting on thick gloves, pants, shirt, etc., and pulling the stuff out, or using a weed killer that you spot onto the leaves of the poison ivy, I do not have any recommendations on how to get rid of it. I just know that you do not want to burn it.
Tina A.
My Website: http://muslinbunnies.tripod.com/
My Etsy: http://FelineFeathers.etsy.com
My Button Quail Site: http://groups.google.com/group/button-quail-planet |
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Tin Lizzie
True Blue Farmgirl
91 Posts
Tx
USA
91 Posts |
Posted - Feb 03 2009 : 05:48:00 AM
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I found this on the web. maybe it will work for you! you would just have to be careful to not get it on your other plants.
Vinegar
Ordinary white vinegar is a fantastic natural product for killing unwanted vegetation, and it works well to kill poison ivy if given plenty of time. Twice a week, apply straight white vinegar with a garden sprayer, and in time the plants will begin to die. This natural method to get rid of poison ivy takes more time, but it's a much better option than using caustic chemicals. Keep in mind it will also kill any vegetation in comes in contact with in the yard, and care should be taken around other plants, grass, and shrubs. |
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farmmom22
True Blue Farmgirl
616 Posts
Tammy
Scottsville
KY
USA
616 Posts |
Posted - Feb 03 2009 : 06:08:02 AM
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Thanks girls! I had no idea burning it would be that bad. I am extremely allergic to it and had poision ivy like three or four times last year. Not fun at all. So burning it would've probably ate me up! Wonder if I can go ahead and start spraying vinegar on the flower bed now? I want to prevent it from coming up because once things start growing back in the spring it's to hard for me to control.
So now I just need to know about my elephant ear bulb. Those things are so expensive, so I surely don't want to ruin it.
Best farm wishes |
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ddmashayekhi
True Blue Farmgirl
4738 Posts
Dawn
Naperville
Illinois
USA
4738 Posts |
Posted - Feb 03 2009 : 06:49:15 AM
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Burning poison can be deadly! We had poison ivy all over our yard when we moved here 6 years ago. Removing it was quite tedious, but we won out in the end. My husband would cover every bit of skin with heavy clothing and then remove the poison ivy from the ground, bushes, trees, by carefully untangling it and then digging up the roots (be sure to wash everything immediately afterwords & put TechNu on before you shower). Whenever a new batch would try to sprout he sprayed it with a spray made specifically to kill poison ivy. The spray only works in the growing season. Remember, poison ivy never goes dormant!
Good luck on cleaning up your flower bed! It took us a little over two years, but we got the poison ivy out of our acre wooded lot.
Dawn in IL |
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Bellepepper
True Blue Farmgirl
1207 Posts
Belle
Coffeyville
KS
USA
1207 Posts |
Posted - Feb 03 2009 : 07:38:26 AM
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Elephant ears are very tender. I wouldn't put them in the ground until the ground is warm. I'd be afraid it would kill the bulb.
Good luck. |
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Bellepepper
True Blue Farmgirl
1207 Posts
Belle
Coffeyville
KS
USA
1207 Posts |
Posted - Feb 03 2009 : 07:40:57 AM
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| Sorry Tammy, just read the end of your question. I guess I was too anxious to hear if you can burn poison Ivy to finish reading your post. Anyway, don't let your elephant ear bulb freeze. |
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farmmom22
True Blue Farmgirl
616 Posts
Tammy
Scottsville
KY
USA
616 Posts |
Posted - Feb 03 2009 : 08:39:26 AM
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Thanks girls for all the info. Belle, should I just store it in my basement until the ground warms or should it be stored somewhere else?
Best farm wishes |
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SheilaC
True Blue Farmgirl
1948 Posts
Sheila
Vermont
USA
1948 Posts |
Posted - Feb 03 2009 : 5:24:42 PM
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| just a reminder about the poison ivy, too. . .the clothing you wear to pull it out will have the oils on it and will give you the rash too, so be careful and wash yourself well (fels naptha is good) when you put it in the washer!! |
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lisamarie508
True Blue Farmgirl
2648 Posts
Lisa
Idaho City
ID
USA
2648 Posts |
Posted - Feb 04 2009 : 04:20:10 AM
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Wow, this flower bed sounds scary. I think I would dig up all the perennials, clean the roots off to make sure you don't get any poison ivy roots with them and then replant them elsewhere. Then you can just pour vinegar to your hearts content and leave that bed until that stuff is gone. I think the best time to do this would be as soon as you can get a shovel into the ground. That way, you are moving the perennials while dormant, which is much safer for their survival AND the poison ivy won't be up and growing to harm you while you do this. I don't know how big your bed is, but this could be a lot of work. If you want to save the perennials, don't pour vinegar in the bed at any time while they are still in it. It will kill them, too, even during dormancy.
The elephant bulb is a tropical plant and the soil would need to be warm before planting as well as being past danger of frost. You might have to dig it up in the fall to store inside til spring again. They're a beautiful plant and I always thought one would look really cool in my garden. But I'm zone 3/4 and I really don't have enough of a growing season to even bother. In the meantime, keep it in a dark, cool(40-50 degrees), dry place.
Farmgirl Sister #35
"If you can not do great things, do small things in a great way." Napoleon Hill (1883-1970)
my blog:
http://lisamariesbasketry.blogspot.com/
[size=1]My apron website:
http://lisamariesaprons.bravehost.com [size=1] |
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lisamarie508
True Blue Farmgirl
2648 Posts
Lisa
Idaho City
ID
USA
2648 Posts |
Posted - Feb 04 2009 : 04:28:30 AM
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OH! I just had another thought and I don't know why I didn't think of this before because this is my favorite way to get rid of troublesome weeds. Dig your perennials out like I suggested before and plant elsewhere or in large pots. Cover the entire garden with extra heavy landscape fabric or multiple layers of newspaper with a thinner landscape fabric over them. Then build a raised bed at least a foot deep. The poison ivy will never come up through again and you could replant all of your perennials back into the new bed.
Farmgirl Sister #35
"If you can not do great things, do small things in a great way." Napoleon Hill (1883-1970)
my blog:
http://lisamariesbasketry.blogspot.com/
[size=1]My apron website:
http://lisamariesaprons.bravehost.com [size=1] |
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farmmom22
True Blue Farmgirl
616 Posts
Tammy
Scottsville
KY
USA
616 Posts |
Posted - Feb 04 2009 : 06:39:13 AM
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Thanks everybody for all the good info. Lisa, I think I will just move everything out of that bed! It was here when we moved in and it's near an oak tree, so it just stays full of acorns, leaves and poision ivy! I don't know why I didn't think of that before. And then I can pour vinegar on the bed and cover it up to smother all of the poision ivy out. GENIUS!! Well I say I'm gonna do this, but since all I have to do is look at the stupid flower bed & get poision ivy, I think it will be a good job for hubby! Thanks, girls
Best farm wishes |
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Garden Gate: A couple of gardening questions?? |
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A couple of gardening questions??
