I have been battling ragweed for the last few years, and I'm on the losing side. I try digging it up, but the root system seems extensive. I want to stay away from chemicals but did resort to round up last year in an isolated spot-still coming up this year. Thanks for any advice you have to offer. It's invading my garden area now, and I'm ready for gorilla warfare.

-- Fabienne (resourcefulhome@conninc.com), May 30, 2001

Answers

The portable propane torch systems seem to work around here, a little dose of :crispy" goes a long way. If you have allegries to ragweed, locally produced honey seems to help your body build defenses.

-- mitch hearn (moopups1@aol.com), May 30, 2001.

There was a field that was solid ragweed the first year we lived here. We timed cutting it down (sickle bar cutter) to when the flower was just forming. This eliminates the pollen and prevents the plant from going to seed, just as it has put all it's energy into reproduction. The field was fallow the next year, and had very little ragweed return.

-- David C (fleece@eritter.net), May 30, 2001.

Whatever else you do, keep it from seeding! For getting rid of it, I've used a few different methods. In the garden, a good deep mulch will keep it from sprouting. When I first put in my garden, it was already established there, so I let the goats eat it down, and then put in pigs to dig it up. When the pigs finish digging, you can plant and mulch, sometimes with no further work than just leveling things off. Transplants work well like this, but I've usually needed the tiller when seeding something. In pasture areas, I graze goats or mow it until I stop seeing it come back.

-- Connie (Connie@lunehaven.com), May 31, 2001.

Thanks for the advice so far. Just wanted to add that my goats will not touch the stuff (has spread thick in goat pens and since it grows so tall, it seems to stop "good" weeds from coming back) nor will the chickens. As a matter of fact, I've tried putting the ckn scratch feed in a cluster of the ragweed for them to scratch up the area, but they peck around the plants.

-- Fabienne (resourcefulhome@conninc.com), May 31, 2001.