The Goderich Signal-Star, 1979-04-26, Page 60A
The battle with the weed
by R. H. Brown
Rideetown College
Weeds have tremendous ability
to survive, despite man's efforts
to control anderadicate them.
They survive by producing
many offspring. For example,
fall panicum, an annual grass,
can produce a quarter of a
million seeds per plant if it has no
•competition. Perennial weeds
reproduce by vegetative parts
and by seeds. Quack grass
produces rhizomes or un-
derground stems with many
growing points. Nutsedge
produces corms or tubers which
are swollen stem tissue. One
nutsedge plant could produce
1,500 new plants if it had no
competition. Various weeds
produce a variable number of
seeds or underground parts per
plant.
'these seeds, rhizomes, corms,
bulbs or routs are able to remain
Ever heard of kohlrabi?
Add a bit of European flavor to
your garden and your meals with
kohlrabi.
Although this vegetable dates.
back to the days of Pompeii, it's
new to most Canadians," says
Joe. Muehmer, .horticultur.ist. a.t.......
the Ridgetown College of
Agriculture Technology. -
A. member • of the cabbage
family, this vegetable is popular
in northern European countries,
particularly in the Netherlands
and Germany.
"And because it is a . cool
climate vegetable which is easy
to grow, it is ideal for home
gardens in Ontario," says Mr, . .
Muehmer.
Kohlrabi has become a favorite
at ethnic markets. To meet the
demand for planting recom-
mendations, Mr. Muehmer
conducted tests on several
varieties in the spring. The -
results were delicious.
The first crop of white and
purple varieties was planted,
using seedlings, in early May. By
the end of June, 50 days after
- planting, the--srop_was-read-y._for-
the table.
Mr. Muehmer plans to sow his
second crop at the end of July for
harvest in mid-September.
Where Easter
lilies bloom
Before deciding to throw out
your Easter lily, consider.
transplanting it in the garden.
Easter lilies (Lilium
loilgiflorum) can he grown
successfully outdoors, says Theo
Blom, Ontario Ministry of
Agriculture and Food hor-
ticulturist. If you're lucky they
may hluom again.in the fall.
Once the plant has bloomed`'
indoors, remove the anthers from
the flowers and keep the plant
well watered in a cool room. Mr...
Blom says lilies enjoy good light,
but not direct sunlight. .
As soon as danger of frost is
past, remove the plant from the
pot and transplant to a partially -
shaded section of t•he garden.
Lilies prefer light soils with
good drainage and water -holding
capacity, but without high fer-
tility.
Because the Easter lily is not
entirely winter -hardy Mr. Blom
recomfnends using a thick mulch
of leaves and straw to cover the
bulbs. If the winter is not too
severe, the hulks should grow and
flower again next year.
Another method of protecting
bulbs for the winter is to dig thbm
up c—nr pletc with roots and. store
them in a cooL.dry place. .......
Mr. Blom says temperatures of
about.. 10 :degree -s .C...should...be..
maintained for six to eight weeks.
After this cold treatment, the
hulks •ean he potted and kept at
room temperature to encourage
the growth of the new shoots,
Home gardeners should seed
kohlrabi directly into the soil 40 to
45 centimetres apart in a shady
part of the garden, "he recom-
mends.
"For best results, harvest
when the swollen stem reaches 5
to 6 centimetres in diameter," he
says.
Somewhat like a mild turnip in
taste, kohlrabi is a versatile
vegetable which can be served
fresh with a dip or cooked.
To prepare, pull off the side
leaves and peel from the bottom
up. Mr. Muehmer says it can be
'ked with some of the leaves
for more flavor.
Kohlrabi also freezes well. •
Blanch after dicing or slicing and
put into freezer bags.
. _t
/ PLANT
VEGETABLES
SAVE YOUR
BUDGET
dormant for years. Research
indicates that seeds of some of
our most common weeds were
.alive after 40 years of storage in
the soil. Velvetleaf, pigweed,
ragweed, mustard, ,purslane,
plantain, and curled dock were
among these long -living seeds.
Many seeds need certain
temperatures or temperature
changes, a chemical change,
moisture regimes of a specific
nature or light' before they will
germinate. Velvetleaf has a hard
seed coat which must be broken
to allow moisture into the seed
before it will germinate. The
advantage of this, of course, is
that this ensures the weed's
survival.
Another interesting fact is that
not all of the seeds produced one
year will germinate next year.
One study indicated that only 4.5
to 7.5 percent of the viable seeds
present, germinate each year.
Weeds such as lamb's quarters,
shepherd's purse, annual chick-
weed and American nightshade
were tested. However, there was
a 22 to 27 percent reduction of the
remaining viable seeds annually
in undisturbed 'soil. This
reduction amounted to'about 40
percent when the soil was
cultivated twice and up to 55
percent when cultivated seven
times per year.
Weed seeds can be eaten by
livestock, stored in manure and
some remain viable. Velvetleaf-
seed stored in liquid pig manure
at RCAT for 8 weeks and
removed at weekly intervals
germinated as well, or better
after 8 weeks than after 1 to 7
Weeks. This helps the spread of
weed seeds when the manure is
returned to the field.
Many people do not realize that
many weeds,cut at the flowering
Page 27
stage, will' still produce or
mature viable seeds. Common
sow -thistle, groundsel and some
wild asters are examples. If
weeds are mowed or cut off this
should be done at or before the
bud stage to prevent seed for-
mation.
Another important aspect of
the survival of the weeds is that
we are responsible for spreading
them. About 8 to 10 percent of
plant species in the ,north tem-
perate zone are weeds. Man
imported about 50 percent of
these weed species from Europe
and Asia. We are still spreading
them with equipment, through
feed and crop seed, and by many
other means.
Not, only have these weeds
adapted to new areas, but they
are adapting to man's methods of
control. As we control some of the
common weed species such as
lamb's -quarters, pigweed,
ragweed, ..barnyard grass and
(oxtail, other less important, but
more difficult weeds, such as fall
panicum, velvetleaf, wire
stemmed muhly and others, have
•become major problems. Weeds
resistant to the control of some of
our herbicides have evolved.
Lamb's -quarters, pigweed and
groundsel have become resistant
to triazines, such as atrazine,
Bladex and simazine.
Man has developed
mechanical,. . chemical and
cultural methods of controlling
weeds. This is evident in the
efficiency of our crop production.
It is difficult, however, .,to
eradicate many weeds because of
their many and varied .methods
of survival through reproductive
methods, dormancy, adaptation,
dissemination and general
persistence.
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