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.