THISTLE: The Worst Weed In Your Garden! How To Get Rid Of It And ALL Its Invasive Roots!
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- Опубликовано: 20 май 2020
- There is one horrible weed that all gardeners absolutely hate….Thistles!
In this video, I’ll show you exactly what to do to get rid of them and to keep them in check.
Spring is the best time for weeds to get a foothold, especially for Creeping Thistle.
It's mostly known as Canada Thistle and is now one of the worst invasive weeds around the world.
It’s a perennial that can grow about five feet high with extremely sharp spines on its stem
and the edges of its leaves.
Through the summer they'll actually get harder and sharper so they can be painful if you touch them.
Thistles also have these terrible roots that are practically impossible to remove completely.
They go deep at over a foot sometimes and then they turn, sending up new shoots every few inches.
Later in the year it'll produce a lot of purple flowers. You definitely need to get rid of them to keep the rest of your garden safe as they can form about a thousand seeds per plant. Since they have a lot of fluff on them, they'll ride the wind and can blow for miles.
Like me, if you garden organically, you stay away from any chemical herbicides. You don't want to upset the natural balance by using any toxins that could hurt bees or even yourself. So before you plant your garden, you want those weeds gone!
The best method, I think, is to simply dig them out.
I've always had the best success in early to mid spring. The soil is moist and very easy to work with.
This way the roots can separate better when you remove them. If you wait until the summer, the soil will be drier and be hard...encasing the roots. The fragile roots will end up snapping into pieces.
At this time the plants are pretty small. You can handle them with little risk as those sharp spines haven't fully developed. Later in the summer and fall the weeds will have matured and will require gloves to handle.
Even when they're small you can't just pull them out of the ground by hand. The roots go too deep.
If you try, they'll just break right off. You need to work them out with a proper tool. Most tools will cuts the roots and leave a lot of pieces in the ground. All of which can reroot and grow into brand new plants.
The best one I found to use is the spading fork.
Start by pushing the fork down as deep as you can. Go around the plant and break up the soil a bit.
Do this a few times working it back and forth to start loosening the ground. This will help to pull the weeds out especially if their roots go deep. You really don't need to worry about cutting the roots with this technique. We're just poking through them. We're not slicing them up.
Do this for a bit and then you can start testing if they'll come out. Gently tug on the stem. If it's loose, slowly pull it out. The soil needs to have just enough moisture to make it crumbly.
It will then easily drop away from the roots.
The roots can travel quite a ways sometimes. And as they grow, they'll cross and twist around each other getting very tangled. Sometimes the roots will go only an inch or two before they send up a shoot. Sometimes it's much further. But you never have to worry about actually touching the roots with your bare hand. There are no spines under the ground, so they're completely safe to handle. After pulling them out, you also want to check through what you dug to see if you left any pieces behind.
Once you're done digging them out, you need to finally dispose of them. Normally, you would just throw them right onto your compost pile. But if you then cover them up while the roots are still alive,
they will definitely keep growing and spread all through the pile. And then when you want to use this
compost and put it back in your garden, pieces of live root will end up going everywhere and you'll just keeping the cycle going.
The best way is to lay them out in the sun to totally dry out and then you can mix them into your compost.
After digging them out, you want to maintain the area so you don't have to do that again. It was a lot of work! You probably left a few pieces in the ground but they're pretty weakened now. Mulch is very effective as a general weed control...usually. But it won't work for thistles that already have roots in the ground. It will not stop these stems from pushing up through it.
An easier way to keep the thistles in check is by just watching that area every week and if you see any new sprouts, simply cut them below the surface using a knife or a hoe. This will force the roots so keep trying to send up new stems. If you continue cutting them like this when they're small,
the remaining roots won't strengthen and after a while will give up.
So now I hope you know a little bit more about how thistles grow and what to do about them.
If you found this video useful and informative, please help me out by giving me a thumbs up.
Share it with all your gardening friends and press that subscribe button.
When you garden well, you'll always eat well!
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I have a 1 acre farm property that thistle shows up every year, for the last 20 years I have used Baking soda. Since I have grandchildren that walk barefeet on the grass, what I do is......Cut the thistle at the root, at ground level. Grab it with old pair of tongs and throw it away, then put one or two spoonfulls of baking soda on the root still in the ground. You can also just put baking soda directly on a small thistle and watch it get black and die after several days.Note: the baking soda will disappear after a week or so.I used to dig them too, I discovered this tip from an old garden book.Share with others, it works wonders. The beauty is, it works on giant thistle just as well.I've also made it a twice a year ritual, to walk the property line and look for any that have flowered that I have missed, or they will spread following year.
Thistles contain potassium and grow in soil lacking in potassium this is how pioneer plants improve your soil. Your garden is telling you to increase potassium levels in your soil. As your soil currently lacks potassium you could plant globe artichokes as they too have their own supply of potassium. By all means dig up the thistles but add them to your compost and then use this to add their potassium to the soil. Once you have increased the levels other plants will thrive. All ‘weeds’ bring different nutrients to your soil identify which you have the most of to see how to amend your soil.
genius! thank you!
He does mention composting them
It's also edible and very medicinal. Makes a great tea to help relieve chronic pain.
Our friend had an area in their field that was full of thistles. Every year she'd pick all the flowers off but leave the plant. (They'd get to 5 get tall! ) but each year they'd get smaller and smaller and soon died out!
Is this the milk thistle so good for liver problems?
In Iran We use thistle Roots in our food and is Very Famous and Expensive in Spiring Season
How do you prepare them please?
@@amandam5675
In fact, it is not a root, it is a stem, but because its stem is underground, I say it is a root.
First, you have to wash and clean the roots and add them to non-industrial yogurts so that they are fermented together and after 3 to 4 days they are ready together in the refrigerator and can be eaten as a delicious yogurt with fresh bread (because industrial Yogurt is sweet and are not fermented).
Also You can boil the roots a little in vinegar and add salt, pepper, garlic, black seeds or if you like a little turmeric and put it in a jar as a pickle. If you like that your pickle is not too sour, you can add some water to the vinegar.
You can clean the roots and add them to vegetable stew. Believe me, I would like to teach you, but my English is weak, and I will leavy you a video about its stew
ruclips.net/video/JjSa7Y_r10c/видео.htmlsi=L37TNa4ehZ8ezI4s
Yes I had these thistles and dandelions years ago, when grubs invaded my whole backyard...I spent 2-3 years digging those weeds manually after my retirement...Now year 2022, I'm very proud to say my whole backyard are full of flowers and some veggies...
Uh.. Thistles are edible. Look it up. So are dandelions. When there is nothing at the grocery store in these awful times, you might want to learn about which weeds you can actually eat.
Every single part of the dandelion is edible, infact it is one of the worlds super foods!! It is powerful medicine and tastes great in salads....we can as much low sugar dandelion jelly a season as we can get from our yard! We use whole head and stems and half as much sugar as most recipes call for. We put lemon in ours, sometimes lavender.....it tastes delicious and is very good for you!
@@marianstew54 you eat them.ate enough weeds when my grandfather was alive.
@@Mikaela777 you sound like my Italian grandfather
Hi Erlinda. (: Sounds like your labor paid off. I hope both of mine will be going soon. I'm just now able to tackle them in MT.
For those saying we should eat them, what if your words are taken seriously & that person dies?? I have NO idea what chemicals have been used in my home's yrs. of ungrateful renters. All I do know is it was full of dino dog crap. NO way I'm eating these "edibles" that have been fed from E coli, but I'll happily share so long as you pick them.
No one should eat plants from the ground w/o knowing what they are eating 1st & 2nd having full knowledge said plants have NOT been sprayed. I've eaten dandelions in the wild & other edibles, but ONLY because I know these 2 things. Just because we're having to go back to the olden days doesn't mean our current world of chemicals will cease to exist. Many of those chemicals take 3-5 yrs. to leave the ground. I'm all for the old ways in just about every thing, but these chemicals are deadly. They didn't readily exist a century ago.
Sorry, sorry, sorry, lol as a Canadian you gave me a good laugh! This is the best thistle video I've seen. I'm heading out to may garden right now! Plus, I just subscribed.
These turned up on my allotment last year. I dug out a ton of roots and (what I now know, thanks to you) young plants. But I couldn't identify them, and didn't realize they were thistles. They're back again this year, so I'm digging again, but I am going to be putting in raised beds and weed-suppressed woodchip paths, which I hope will resolve the problem. Thanks for the video, it's nice to know what you're dealing with!
Thank you for the relaxing explanation on such a spiny topic. I'm in MT & bought a beautiful home w/a big back yard that's sadly over grown w/thistle & dandelions. I'm physically impaired, but I get down to the ground if need be & by the end of the week have 3 or 4 of the 13 gallon bags full of both. When I got here late last October, I noticed the dried pods on thistles that were almost a meter high. It was too cold to pull them so all I could do was cut the pods & hope for the best. Our ground just recently became thaw enough to pull weeds which sadly is the only reason for ANY greenery in either of my fenced yards.....with the exception of 8 rhubarb plants & a Maple Tree....little grass exists.
Upon taking my senior dogs for a neighborhood walk last December about 2 blocks over, I found the original gateway for my spiny invaders. This home's yard had 5' extremely spiny thistles right at the edge of the public sidewalk. I haven't been back to the area. I've a new injury & can't walk that far for now, but I'm NOT giving in. This yard looked to be out of a horrific folktale, but it most definitely was lived in. My home was a rental for many years I'm told. Fairly well cared for except the split yards which I'm religiously praying & pulling into victory. My next door neighbors are doing their best to mow my yards because I can't run a mower or hold a weed trimmer right now. I feel their help is a win-win for us both because they're openly witnessing a physically impaired lass spend hours in her yard at least 3 days a week. I'm mostly trying to get my yard in order for my senior dogs. Both are allergic to almost every thing so NO chemicals at my home even if I approved. I'm a nature freak though & believe in a natural garden that's inviting to pollinators which is 2nd to my dogs happy retirement. My neighbor's tilled up a spot away from the thistles & close to the rhubarb which I'm making into a community garden or a very big garden for the dogs & myself.
I watched your entire video as every body should. You mentioned it's illegal in some places to allow this spiny weed to grow. I'm not sure MT is on that list, but I will mention this original gateway is not far from our tiny medical center/hospital as well as all 3 levels of grade schools. I know back in December it was already hanging into the public concrete walkway....I'm new to this area of MT & never had this issue. Do you/others have ANY suggestions of how to get this home owner to take care of this community nuisance?? Thanks in advance. ~ Covah
Wow! Great explanation and demonstration on how to remove these. I have been doing it wrong wrong wrong 😑. just ripping them out snapping those roots. . Great idea to use that spade fork thank you
I've been spotting thistles in my yard and I came across this. Thank you for the information.
10:38 That was so funny! It even managed to make thistles less hostiles and daunting.
my father-in-law got thistle weevils from the local ag extension. He put the bugs on the lower heads and no seeds got away. He didn't do anything else, but his thistles went away from his cow pastures.
These monsters began to show up in my vegetable beds after a number of seedlings were only marginally established, so I couldn't fork them out without damaging my crops. I used a dandelion digging tool, worked it fully around the thistle to loosen the soil, then gently tugged on it while wiggling it around. I think I've been able to eliminate most of them.
Hi Wayne, thanks for watching! You're right in that the thistles show up when all the vegetable seedlings are at their fragile stage. Just keep watching that area and if they show up again, you have to treat it like a surgery. If you use a sharp knife, you can cut the thistle maybe an inch or two under the surface and not hurt your vegetables. Keep doing this and hopefully, in a few months, it'll surrender. Paul.
This is a very thorough video, I've always had a problem with these weeds and I'm going to try this method! Hopefully it works as good for me! Can't wait until next video
Let me know how it works out for you!
Until a bird flys over and deposits a gift with a seed in it. 😁
Don't feed the birds! Sadly, you can't always persuade the neighbors to do this.
This is this first year in our new home. These weeds are all over my backyard and all over the neighborhood. Thanks for the information!
THANK YOU! for this in depth tutorial on proper thistle control
Another great video, I know what to do now. Newly subscribed and now binge watching.
Thistle is one of the favorites of honey bees. They make great honey from them. Also my neighbors have plenty of thistles to seed my garden regularly.
Thank u for sharing! You haven’t post for a long time, I enjoy your videos.
I'm an organic grower. I hate thistle. To combat it, I've found 2 layers of plain brown cardboard topped with a thick layer of compost works. And if some thistle defeats the cardboard-and in my experience some will-I'll keep hoing the leaves, killing them when small. Eventually, the energy stored in the roots is expended, and no more thistle. It takes a few months and a little diligence, but it'll work.
I mowed & tarped next year's garden. I'll be doing cardboard & lasagna bed this fall, so I can dig them out easier next year (if any come up).
@@fourdayhomestead2839 Cool. From reports, that should work. I use Charles Dowding's method (outlined on his RUclips channel). I make hot compost here, which I spread 1 to 2 inches thick over a double-stacking of cardboard. It's more work, w/ all that compost turning and making sure you have the right mix between carbon and nitrogen, but using finished compost keeps slugs down.
They are good for your health at the same time
@@juliaherbet2063 why are they good for your health?
@@robynnbryar1977 they are believed to help with the liver, diabetes, milk production etc. I do believe in herbs so everytime I see a plant I research about it before I destroy it. Many of the plants we see in our gardens and we consider them nuisance, they are good for our health. God gave us everything. I used to have a problem with my liver, arthritis and diabetes and the moment I started using what God has given me I don't feel no pain in my knees and my bloods and liver function has improved. By the way I have never consumed alcohol or smoke in my life but all this with my liver started happening. But thank God for His plants
Love your vids! Just found them today and been binge watching 😊 I'm learning alot as a beginner
That's fantastic @Blue, glad you're finding them helpful!
Paul
I had these weeds (Thistle weeds) to come up around my Japanese Maple tree. I ended up getting pricked and (with cloth gloves on) and it did hurt. The next day, I had a low grade fever and was wondering what happened. It was the pricks from the thistle. I'll be more careful when dealing with this particular weed in the future, and will never let them get out of hand again. Thanks for sharing.
THANK YOU! THANK YOU!! Other videos tell you to dig them up, but I like your method and it makes the most sense to get more of the root. They are starting to take pver my little garden and I saw mynfirst one in the lawn yesterday! 😡 Next dry day, I am OUT THERE!!!! Fingers crossed; I'm on a mission!
I agree. I tackled them in early spring. Easier to dig up when they are still young before the thorns develop and soil is damp. Kept on them through the summer. Huge improvement. Will see this spring if they are dwindling. Good video. Thx
Hi Mo....they're a tough weed but it sounds like you're getting them under control. Good luck this season!
Thanks for watching!
Paul
I don’t have those kind; mine have small white flowers with yellow centers. Vinegar and salt won’t take them com for long. Like yours, they have long roots and very prickly seeds that cling to everything. I have tried hairspray, but it’s tough to get every seed. I will definitely try your method and keep at it. Thanks so much for making this video.
One of the best videos I've ever seen on RUclips
Most informative so far! But I did see another video where the guy used a bulb planter to reach the tap root. 👍
Such a very good video!!! Just want to say, that even if it is easiest to dig the roots up in spring, it is more effective when they start producing flower buds! In that stage the roots are weakest in the yearly cycle. This goes for all plants. In spring the roots are full of vitality, so if you miss a bit down there, it will grow up again. Also, even if thistles produce lots of seeds, I have learned that they are not at all very fertile, so no panic...
This is actually not true for thistles. Their stored carbohydrates are what you're combating. They have to use most of their stored carbohydrates in the spring to push up a new shoot. Once they've reached the fall they go through a minor dip in stored carb to produce flowers, but nothing like the initial dip from the spring push. So getting them small in the spring is the best tactic for small spaces.
For larger areas (that can't be hand dug) going fallow with a 3 year alfalfa crop had the best outcome for thistle population reduction.
I could see sorghum Sudan grass having good results and I have had some good results with buckwheat.
❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤q😊
😂
We don’t have much thistle in Hawai‘i but this all applies to nutsedge. The biggest difference is the nuts take forever to dry out. I’ve started throwing them in a bucket of water for several weeks to make weed tea which is great fertilizer. Stinks a bit at first. Then let the sludge dry up on the ground before composting. Thank you
Have my first and only thistle. Its huge. Was going to let it bloom out of curiousity. Glad I watched your video. Have been digging out wild roses for 20 years. Just because its pretty and smells good doesn't mean it belongs in your garden. Thank you.
I love your methods no poisons no herbicides! I remove thistle mechanically too. Eventually their strong root system exhaust itself. They also only concentrate in moist areas around my garden beds.
The most informative video on thistles! Thanks 😊
I'm glad you found it helpful @K Biggs and thanks for the great support!
Paul
Can’t wait to do this and have a better garden next year! I’ve had lots of issues this year. Ty
That's great Janice!
Good luck and thanks for watching!
Paul
Great video--bestI've seen on getting rid of these obnoxious weeds. This summer I tried cutting the root and then soaking it and around it with white vinegar. Doesn't appear to have helped much but I've used it in beds that are planted where I don't want to spade.. Looking forward to going out this week with my spade fork and going after all the ones in the garden paths. Be afraid, be very afraid!
Thanks for the information on vinegar use! I was going to combine the two efforts, but if it doesn't help, I don't want to risk my other plants.
one of the best RUclips videos ive watched
Another way to get rid of them is by Juicing the leaves and stems . They are very refreshing and have a neutral taste like a cucumber. I keep the around for that purpose. I just don’t let them get to flower stage.😁
Are you kidding or is that real? Do you combine them with anything?
"If you can't beat them, eat them".
Yes! And the very young ones make a great pot herb just boiled. VERY high in nutrition :) Also supposedly a Liver Detox.
This was a pleasure to watch
I really liked your video. Thanks a lot. You are very funny too. I'm left with a smile on my face, thinking of those damn thistles laughing their roots off, make us dig like crazy. But, I just came in from doing exactly that, and it is sort of good for me to see them disappear from the lovely garden we have just taken over, but it was a little neglected, but we must be careful, because lovely plants are hidden amongst the enemies of most gardeners.
I don't have time to write long essays, because I have to see more of your videos. I just subscribed. So, keep up the good work!
I had 3 thistle shoots about 2 feet tall. At first I thought it was so pretty… but then I said, “Wait a minute…” and looked it up. I cut those down so fast and pricked myself in the process. In my mind these three shoots were invading my WHOLE yard… I just have this irrational fear of plants taking over to the point I can’t maintain it. Your video eased that anxiety. Thanks. Loved the Canada Thistle joke!!! Spot on.
Awesome video, thank you ☺️!!
I enjoyed watching, very entertaining, thanks for sharing❤️
Thanks very much for supporting my channel @redredwine1277 !
Paul
Great video! I just ordered the tool you used as I didn't realize how wild those roots were and I was using a gardening knife thing and wasting my time. I have a half acre of these things mixed with dandelions, blackberries and holly so I'm very busy with the weed battle!
Very informative. Subbed!
Thank you for an excellent explanation.
Thanks for the tip on using the fork to loosen the soil. I'm sure that will help. I've noticed that by keeping them pulled they are getting smaller and less aggressive. Next time I'll use my garden fork and maybe they'll get tired of trying to grow in my flower bed! :)
Because in pulling the leaves you rob the plant of sun which starves even the roots.
Well explained video. Entertaining at the same time. You have made a fan out of me and a subscriber as well. Thanks!
Thanks very much for the great support Charles!
Paul
Thumbs UP! That was great Thank You.
I had this thistle all through my back yard and especially in my veggie garden area. All the neighbors around me used weed control in their lawns and gardens so my place was an organic haven to them and they thrived in my yard. They were especially difficult to get out of the lawn with a heavy clay base. Oy. The worst weed I've ever encountered.
When you're organic and your neighbors are using weed killer, if you don't maintain your plot, your neighbors will use EXTRA weed killer and blame you for making them do it.
I just bought a place that's about 1 acre. It'll be some time before it's ship-shape.
While we need to be careful with those painful thorns and invasivenes those weed is a wonderfully medicine. I actually forage for thistle and am grateful for this blessing. It's good to research the benefits. Too many to list here. Need to wear very thick gloves and protective clothes. Because the thorns really.sting. thank you for helping folks to avoid the invasivenes in their lawns and their precious ❤️ gardens. Agape
I have some of them coming up in the spaces in between where I have rubber mats to keep weeds from coming up. I used to use Roundup weed killer, BUT, now I am trying to not use Roundup.
I am now thinking that smothering them would be best. Also, making raised beds will be easier to keep weeds pulled. I no longer garden at the ground surface, so, any of those weeds that grow at the ground level, I can just mow down to the soil surface about 4=-5 inches tall.
Thistle weeds have been said to tap down to the deeper soil area and absorb the deeper soils nutrition or soil elements. Maybe those weeds would be best to be composted and add those deeper soils nutrients to your compost.
Been fighting these for 30 years. They get in and among my spring bulbs and perennials. I never seem to have my leather gloves on me when I see them. They go straight to the patio burner to dry and eventually get burned.
We organically home garden…I love thistles…they are not only good to eat but beautiful! So, we all do not think alike! Have a wonderful day!
This also applies to Stinging Nettle. I tried spot weeding my berry patch for a few years and it just got worse. I finally had to dig up the whole 10' x 80' patch a foot deep. I gave away all berry crowns, and dug up the whole patch a second time the following year. I restarted the patch w/ fresh crowns, and watch for the first sign of weeds now. I also planted Wine Cap Mushroom Spawn in the fresh woodchip mulch, and get a good amount of mushrooms every Spring.
You could just eat the nettle next time. Goes pretty well in soup.
@@jamesbrown99991 I'm talking about Nettle taking over the entire 800 SQ FT Patch. Would you like to get stung by 10,000 hornets while picking berries. The Nettles get over 6' tall and just brushing them can give you 100 stings. They send runners in 10 different directions and also flying seeds that can spread for hundreds of yards, so I would be ruining my 6 other gardens and all my neighbors gardens too.
@@TheTrock121 You must feed them very well for them to get to 6'! I actually planted nettles around the base of my hügelkultur mounds, and I don't mind the stings. If only they grew as well as yours though... I'm thoroughly jealous :)
Thanks for the video
Thanks for the advice, I been using a shovel for years and never thought of using the fork tool and I have one too! LOL another thing I’ve done that works fairly well. Especially with clay soil like I have! Is soak the ground with lots of water softening the soil as much as possible and then I can usually get a lot of the weeds pulled out of the dirt with the roots intact. Still can be a fight with some weeds though. Can’t wait to give your fork tool a try! I have 5 acres and more weeds than I care to think about. I try to keep mine under control. Unfortunately I have many neighbors that don’t care what their property looks like and just let weeds grow and seed. Which just makes more weeds that get started on my property at some point! Never ending battle, especially when neighbors don’t do their share to help control the weeds! Very frustrating!
You may want to consider using a silo tarp. 5 acres is way too much to do one weed at a time.
😎..just discovered..How to use This Tool too!🙂
Plant some thick hedges (needs to be thick also on the ground) around the fence line. The plants will not come up where it is not sunny and the blowing seeds will get stuck on the hedges as well.
great tips thanks
I used a broad fork and a garden fork. Blackberry vines too. Quack grass too! Never leave a root piece..
You have a manner of speaking similar to Joe Pera, and I love that.
Thistle and dandelions are amazing medicinal plants.
haha thanks for the chuckle at the end!
Glad you enjoyed it Mary.
Thanks for spending the time to watch the entire video!
Paul
That fork is an amazing tool couldn't live without it.. the best way to get rid of quack grass You break those roots up and you make many more. I have followed roots that are are 3 feet long and sending little babies that are still attached. Start at the largest plant or the edge of your garden first and you are good for the year it seems. You are right do it when the ground is NOT dry and hard especially thistles after a good rain. You have helped alot of people with your vid. BTW it is illegal here where I live and I have to take care of the ditch along the farm or big fine. : -(
Hi Linda, thanks for spending time to watch my channel and for the great support!
Good luck with your gardening this year.
Paul
@@GardenWellEatWell Thanks Paul you also
I like to use my mattock for everything, -the pointy end is great for going into the soil to loosen around the plant, and when i have it up, and there is compaction and roots,
i smack it with the side of the tool so the soil breaks down, releasing the roots so i can collect them and shake off my soil.
I have had a spading fork for years, and never knew how or where to use it.Thanks.
I’ve been battling these for two years in my front garden. The homeowners put these red brick crumbs all through the soil so it’s so difficult to garden, let alone use tools to dig up these persistent thistles. I’ve been spraying them daily with white vinegar and it’s the first time in ages I don’t see any in the garden. They’re all dying. Just gotta keep it up so no new shoots get a chance 😅
I get just about every variety of thistle there is and every year they just come back worse and worse. Now this year they are even massively invading my very thick lawn. The ground is too compacted and hard to pull - they break - and digging is not an option. I am trying cutting them off at the ground level and hopefully they will give up.
As for those in the garden (have had them there for years), they generally pull easily a day or two after a good rain when the ground is still soft. Using the spading fork will usually take care of the more stubborn ones.
For disposal, I try to compose as much as I can, but these I do not want around and put them in the garbage. Even if composted, the thistles burrs seem to survive. They are so bad they even penetrate the heavy leather gardening gloves I use.
Like this programme and thanks
I love thistles and keep a few growing on the borders to amuse the goldfinches.
Great video please can you advise how to remove those weed the wind around the flowers and plants . I think they are the same family as the Thistle
Thanks for the tips this is great. I’ve been digging over a new lawn and found the (what I think are) thistle roots to be about a foot deep and huge. Pulled one main root out and it was over 8ft long!
Iron and micronutrients put on your lawn makes thistle fade away, once these are depleted weeds are more likely to take over. I keep a spray bottle of lawn herbicide to treat thistle when its small to stop it before it gets established. I'm an organic gardener but it makes no sense to break the tap root making the problem worse when a tiny amount of chemical can eradicate the root. Nobody wants a Canadian Thistle Forest!
Naw, its an old hosepipe.
I sometimes use 3 quarters vinegar 10 tea
doors of salt and some dawn dish soap & let
sit to devolve the salt then shake slightly from bottom to top a few times and go out &
soak the plant and root bottom. It dries them out but you have to keep to it daily.
We are organic growers, thistle is an AMAZING medicine! You may never find a better pain medicine! Everything they tell us is a weed is usually an extremely important medicine that they have synthesized pharma from.
You right. They do not know what they talk about. Like dandelion it’s now the image of weed killer. 😂what a joke , the most beneficial ‘weed’.
When it come to thistle and killing it , I’d
use those terms like this. “Are you a thistle farmer ? Yes, and I’m killing it.”
I’ve got way too many in my garden area right now I might have to wait until the cold winter weather kills them off. I will admit though when they were in full bloom they do look very pretty as long as they’re on the edges of my property which is a few acres so I’ll let those go but the ones in my garden area they are in trouble now.
❤😂❤I LOVE THISTLE! I made a barbed wire fence around my yard & wood fence to keep trespassers out.
I have quite large thistles already but I'm dealing with clay. Been a really wt spring so far but it's just gumbo that breaks the roots. Hard to stay on top of it - south side of house and gets super hot. And evening and morning we deal with super agrrssive mosquitos. Just not a fun section of garden. We plan to cut them dow dig as much as we can, and spread cardboard and newspapers and mulch. Yes they will come back up but at least I hope the soil will slowly become more workable
Ok, the over apologizing at the end got me 😂😂😂😂
Staying to the very end was SO worth it. I loved the joke.
LOL! Thanks @Danny D
Glad you liked it...I had fun doing that segment.
Thanks for watching!
Paul
Omg, I saw one of these weeds in my flower bed last week during a fall cleanup. I initially tried pulling it out, but was poked by the spikes. Then I dug a little and tried pulling it from the root, but again was shocked at how deep the roots were. I have some more digging to do.
Count your blessings that you just have the one!
It's getting late in the year now. You can try digging it out before winter, but if not, make sure to go after it early in the spring. Otherwise, you'll have a lot more growing from the roots later in the season.
Thanks for watching!
Paul
Funnily enough it is also one of the best pollinators...if you really want to get rid of them long term, ensure you keep the soil as little fertilized as possible, they love nitrogen
using pliers with gloves is a good way to remove Saffron Thistle. Grabbing the stem with pliers gives you much greater pulling strength. I find that 30% will break off at the base, however, leaving the root. But also means that 70% pull out with the root. And its chemical free. The odd root will be too hard to pull out if the plant has matured to an adult (like a small bush)
LOL, I could expect only the Canadian Thistle to say sorry! That was funny.
Thanks for the support Robert....glad you enjoyed it!
Paul
"Sorry sorry sorry sorry sorry sorry pardon me.", hahahahahaha!
Potato fork is indispensable in the yard/garden. My tool of choice too.
I'm in the UK so get thistles alot as they are native to here and grow by ponds , rivers etc and are so hard to get rid of , I find I am digging them out every year and still they come back . I need a way to get rid of them totally , once and for all. We over the past few years got them now growing up on our driveway
Thistle make a health tea. These deep roots fill the leaves with rich nutrients .
When I weed thistels and other weeds with an anoying root, I grab scisors and salt. I cut of the upper part so it creates a wound and then I rub some salt in it. Seems to work. Verry effective for killing plants and even annoying trees that keep coming back. When you have thistels in your lawn I wouldn't choose your approach. Now I know where the saying "rubbing salt in the wound" comes from. But great vid, thanks.
I hope that works with sweetgum tree.
@@nancyfahey7518 I suggest to cut a part of the tree, drill a hole in it (vertical if possible), fil it with salt.
@@blanckieification we cut down a huge tree so it can't fall on my house now. It's growing back. Every time we dig a hole and chip a root a tree grows. The huge sections of the tree are in a pile and they are growing. I did love the tree and miss it but I'll be chopping saplings for years. I'll try the salt.
@@nancyfahey7518 everytime weaken them I would say. Don't let them see any sunlight
Use a weed trimmer or mower on the thistles before a rain. great on those established thistles. Like natures weed spray. especially on your neglected compost piles. they will die, and dry; then just mix them in.
Thistle miraculous natural medicine!
I got an ad for Roundup during this! 🙄
Thistle’s are the national emblem of Scotland. 🏴
They all have medicinal properties for your health. Im starting to believe that they are so prolific for a reason. We are meant to have and use them.
This was a very good video. Thank you. I have an 80 acre farm. I have not used poisons for over six years..
Canadian Thistles started about three years ago. I bush hog regularly to get the weeds my cows do not eat. They went to seed before I got to them.
Year two - I bush hogged early, but they still came up from the roots.
Year three (this year) - I walked 40 acres and cut a large number of thistles by hand with shears.
Year four - (next Spring) I am going to follow your ideas
This is by far the best one
Thanks very much Mingshen! Glad you found it informative!
This is how to deal with the Johnsongrass in my garden. Same type of root system.
Excellent video, online the end 😂 Canadian sorry!!! Lol
I once let thistle grow to flower stage coz i was just too busy with other problems. Bees absolutely loved it though. There were sooo many of them hovering. They smell very good too. If only they werent so prickly and invasive id let em stay.
Thank you! I’m trying to get rid of a lot of plantain in my yard.🥵 Will try drying on the sun and compost them.?
Thanks for sharing this video. Question I have is that these Thistle are on my grass and I tried digging to the roots as much as I can but they have pretty much covering a section of my lawn which I am getting very tired of dealing with them. Any other suggestions as I can't keep digging into the grass as I have many spots with no more grass due to this exercise. Many thanks ahead of time
If you don’t want to damage your existing grass and are willing to use a herbicide, Thistledown by Monterey is excellent at getting rid of thistles.
Or trow them in a shredder? You want one to make mulch anyway. What i do i seperate dry material from wets; the dry pile can be use for mulching and the wets go into the compost bin. But the fork idea is a good one. Tnx. And very well edited btw.
Thistle grows in my grass along my fence line. It's roots are from my neighbor that doesn't maintain their yard AT ALL! So I'm constantly having to deal with this problem. They cut their grass maybe once a month and never weed or trim. In the spring when the rabbits are having litters they run over them with the lawnmower and kill them, chopping them up into pieces. The woman is terrified of birds so my big Mulberry tree gets hacked up when the branches grow over onto her side of the fence. It is truly a nightmare but they don't speak English so I can't even talk to them about the thistle, or the baby bunnies. Not that they would do anything anyway....sigh
Please make a video of how to remove thistles and dandelions from the lawn. Thank you
On a 400 acre farm - I lend a hand and garden there - there is no practical way to control them except relentless effort. 10% H2O2 would work to some extent, and would mean quite a cost, let alone that the roots would probably just laugh it off ... :) In the garden I've see a few for the first time. I'll use your method when harvest is over if any pop up, or next spring/summer.
9:10 are there no green bins in north america? (bins dedicated only for compostable and biodegradable things)