Weeds

Once again other projects interfered, and I didn't get my weeds sprayed by now.  By mid-July it is too late to spray the yarrow weeds, the ones that are most common for me now.  That is because yarrow will go to seed by mid-July then slowly die.  Spraying to kill them is useless by mid-July.   So to get rid of the seed heads I pull the yarrow as their roots are not deep.  That doesn't mean that yarrow plant is totally gone as the yarrow's death may not have made it down to the roots, or not all of the roots come out of the ground when pulled.  But as least I got rid of the seeds so at least there won't be more yarrow next year.

Between the time spent moving irrigation pipes, and the hot weather slowing work down, I would spend a few hours a day after moving the pipes in the morning to pull yarrow weeds.  This lasted me over a week.  I got most all of the yarrow - 98 to 99 percent - pulled.  I still find an occasional yarrow here or there.  Some I missed, some late bloomers even though most yarrow has lived its life by mid-July.

I do still have some other weeds, though not as many.  Canada thistle or spotted knapweed.  Those weeds' life last all Summer so those can be sprayed later.  Still, when pulling yarrow or moving irrigation pipes in the pasture (my hayfield has no weeds), I will pull those weeds also.  It doesn't get rid of Canada thistle as those weeds have an interconnected root system.  It seems that the only way to kill them is to spray them.  But at least pulling them stops the seeds from forming.

Pulling spotted knapweed also tends to not kill them as they have a very long root.  I read their roots can be 3 feet deep.  I didn't believe and dug down.  After two feet I quit.  I now believe they have very long roots.  But, if the knapweed is less than a year old sometimes one can pull the knapweed, root and all as the root is not as long or thick.

Here is a young, 'less than a year,' knapweed I pulled.  The red arrows show the knapweed top of the weed to the bottom of the root.  The blue arrow shows where the root starts.

Back in June I did buy some more herbicide for spraying weeds as I almost used up my herbicide last year.  When my works slow down I will try to use it to spray the weeds that are left.