Contacts and COMPOST!

Over 40 people showed up on August 23rd to listen, learn, and ask questions about their favorite knotty issue. Yours Truly got up to speak about this demo site, and then other presenters led discussions on the chemical methods of dealing with the plant. On-site demonstrations were held to show folks who might not know what this plant looks like, and then how to apply the herbicides using both the backpack-sprayer method and the cut-and-dab method.

One fabulous contact I made there was Bruce Herforth, who owns and operates Compost Solutions in Weston. He does other work, and seems to be a jack-of-many-trades; he was interested in the bags of knotweed that have been sitting in my backyard since last spring, when we first cut the demo site. After bringing me out to collect some rocks donated by Gurney Brothers Construction (which we'll use to hold down the rest of the landscape tarp), Bruce and I loaded his trailer with the bags from my yard. Much to my surprise, almost all the knotweed material had been transformed into...mulch. Dirt. Just about soil!

Bruce opened a bag and dug his hand in to feel the texture. He has this to say: "Decomposed knotweed is a good source of carbon and organic matter. It can be added to a compost bin or used directly as a soil amendment. Mix one part decomposed knotweed or compost with two parts native soil to a depth of six inches."

Needless to say, I am thrilled to have the bags gone, and excited that the decomposed material inside has a use! This was just about 15 months after the knotweed was put inside the bags, green and fresh. Many thanks to Bruce -- wear your BRAT t-shirt proudly, my friend, and look for Compost Solutions on next year's model!

Bruce Herforth can be reached at 10 Landgrove Road in Weston, Vermont 05161 and via email at bwher123@yahoo.com.

Modus Operandi

Moving forward, I am planning to adjust the landscape fabric that is on-site and add more to the rest of the site. The poison ivy is going to be a problem...My thinking is that we will add soil to cover the fabric, and plant various hardy natives such as milkweed, jewelweed, and a few other beneficial plants that have a strong chance of surviving - and of coming back after a winter-ful of snow dumped on them.

Out with the old, in with the...ivy??

Yeah, you guessed it -- Jayne says this is the most "vigorous" and "impressive" patch of poison ivy she's ever seen. this just goes to emphasize the importance of planning what you're going to do AFTER you get rid of your knotweed!

Fabric has potential.

The landscape fabric worked wonders, but the rough treatment over the winter allowed it to gap at the seams and some knotweed stalks broke through. The rest of the site was thickly grown in again, but not as densely or as vigorously as the rest of the lot, where we aren't working.

Better than before, but more to be done!

Early June, 2008. Jayne Smith and I tackle the site for its first actual cut since last September. The piles of gravel and dirt in the background hint at the other uses of "our" site -- the town crews are working hard to repair roads as the sewer lines are separated from the storm drains. Note the lush green knotweed on the left, shorter and narrower stalks than the stuff behind the gravel piles -- a few cuts last year made a difference!

Never underestimate the power of knotweed.

The amazing stuff has returned, reaching for the sunlight, racing to beat out the poison ivy as the toughest kid on the block.

It's ba-a-a-a-a-ck....!

Yes, it's early spring, and the site is awash in debris left from the tons of snow and sand piled up over the winter. This is a shot of the landscape fabric covered with dead knotweed stalks and lots of sand. That's Route 11 in the background.