We’ve talked a lot about the benefits of the Ruth Stout method on this channel. But just because it does most things really well, doesn’t mean it does everything perfectly. And while it can sometimes seem like a magic bullet, as it turns out, it’s not completely without it’s flaws. So in this video, I want to talk about Ruth Stout’s worst enemy, and how we intend to deal with it: Quackgrass (AKA: witch grass, couch grass, scutch grass, devil’s grass, bermuda grass, etc.)
OMAFRA: http://www.omafra.gov.on.ca/english/crops/facts/quackgrass.htm
This is the most well done gardening video I've ever seen. By a large margin, actually.
I hope one day for victory against the quack grass
I just pulled all the quackgrass by hand, gonna wait a few weeks then pull it up again… then spray with non-selective weed killer, then spray again a week later… then landscape fabric with 1/4 minus gravel on top.
We till. Rake, pull and then BURN the rhizomes of this grass. Burn it.
Short of killing everything or just constantly cutting/smothering them, I am not sure anything would work. I am considering just let them take over my lawn. It is grass after all, and surely no other things can compete with it. Having said that, there must be a downside to their way of reproduction as nature is usually about trade offs rather than a clear winner.
Towards the end of the video while continuing to talk about quackgrass you show the head of foxtail (also a grass).
That grass is nothing compared to Bermuda grass
I absolutely love your videos! You make everything so easy to understand (even from the tone of your voice to the wonderfully done graphics) You are willing to deal with topics that show also your struggles rather than nothing but successes. Thank you both for taking the time and energy to share with others.
If you're going to that effort you definitely, definitely want to trench the perimeter. A four or five foot wide mulch boundary isn't going to do it. Possibly combine the trench with a chicken moat, that's what I'd like to try
How is mulching with hay not causing that grass. Hay is full of seeds. I've never seen hay that doesn't germinate grass.
i know this video came out a while ago but have you thought about rotating planting areas and pigs rooting old areas
I'm finding I don't have a problem with grass as long as I keep adding mulch. I neglected to do that in one patch and it was overtaken by grass. I've dug it out and covered the area by cardboard. I plan to take the cardboard off in a couple of weeks and dig out again whatever manages to grow underneath, then sow heavy cover crop.
Your precise diction is extraordinary and much appreciated. Thank you for sharing your adventure.
We mulched over it with whole hay flakes, then silage tarped over that whole area. It worked for us.
Witch grass is what my dad called it so that's what I call it….and that star trek episode….that puffy thing was only after wheat….I think it was called Trylotrillacalie…(I'm sure the spelling will be wrong)….I don't use this "Ruth" straw method…..I hate the smell of rotting straw….and I find that if you plant in blocks of the same plant….they all fight for that sun shine and will eventually shade the weeds out…..I started….by tilling….used a manufactured fork to pull the long roots out….till…. pull and then fire on the ground first and then TILL….and repeat the TILL….let the ground dry out….then mutch…
you can also graze it to death — put a cow on it!
So I put 8-12 inches of green fresh mowed hay on top of the quick grass. The composting heat kills the grass. A month I later I add the dried grass on top of this. Come spring I pull back rows and plant seeds without issue.
You should talk about Besom(if you have it there) or Sorghum vulgare/halpense…in my country it is a bigger problem than quack grass
Comfrey is apparently a good rhizome barrier. The paths have become a nursery for quack grass because your mowing depleted and compacted the soil, and you didn't plant anything to take up the gap. May I suggest dutch white clover, yarrow and chamomile? Plantain and dandelions are wild plants to let be in there, as well. Quack grass is indicative of anaerobic conditions, low humus, low calcium, low porosity, low moisture and high salt. You created the ideal conditions for the growth of quack grass by your mowing. I would broadfork the paths and plant the above mix of plants in the spring, plus daikon radish in midsummer. I would also stop mowing the paths for at least a year. after that, you might mow once every fifty days for a couple years, preferably with a scythe. Border the paths with chop 'n drop comfrey, which you should cut for mulch two or three times a year. Don't worry about occasionally trampling it to reach your garden; it can take the punishment. Yarrow is another good wayside chop 'n drop. Ruth Stout put kitchen scraps under her mulch. That's important. For nutrients.
One reason a lot of permaculturists minimize path space is just this problem; we have an impact where we walk, and paths have limited productive value.
the milkweed pods are also tasty vegetables when young
So we cant just chop and drop n use it for a constant source of mulch?
The white subtitles against light blue sky background is sooo hard to read.
21 MOST INTERESTING minutes, thank you very much for sharing this info' on the quackgrass or like Ruth Stout called it 'witchgrass'. Hmm…its seed head is the one shown at the end, and if it is, when it brushes against your hair or clothing, it instantly attaches itself, making it very hard to brush it off, most certainly having to pick each individual burr out of your clothing? Then yeah, we also have it here in central Mexico! Good info to know, that besides being a garden pest its great used as a hayfeed for animals, great to maintain the soil in place and its rhizomes are edible? Liked and sending greetings from Querétaro. 🙂
This grass has defeated several of my gardens. It has amazing tenacity, more than I do.
I found quack-grass can be exterminated by turning loose sheep to overgraze it. If mown to a inch or so and kept that low for a summer the rhizomes die.