This series is dedicated to sharing all the stories, filled with frustration and hopefully triumphs, over the terrible bindweed. There is a saying about all plants having their place and use, but this one I think is the exception. Bees don’t like it, it doesn’t fix nitrogen or build soil, and it’s listed as mildly toxic to grazing animals (which kind-of explains why the chickens didn’t eat it much).
Truthfully these stories are not new. Bindweed (convolvulus arvensis) is listed as a noxious, invasive weed by many states. It tightly winds itself up any nearby plant, pulling it over and shading out the soil all at the same time. The roots can run 20 feet deep and the seeds remain viable for decades. Cropland and any other land can be seriously damaged by an invasion of this plant.
So what’s a person to do about it? A large agricultural farm might choose to disc it under and apply multiple applications of Roundup, but that’s not really practical on our half acre. We could till our garden spots and spray, but for the sake of our families health and the health of the land we choose to not use Roundup. We’ve already found that out here, a fresh tilled piece of land is prime for weeds to grow faster than we ever imagined.
Now you have the base for the story: a half acre, we won’t use Roundup or any such chemicals, and animals don’t eat it.
Any suggestions, or better yet stories of successful eradication, are welcome. 🙂
