I'm talking about the "creep" of the goathead plants. (AKA puncture vine)
Yep, it's that time of year again, when the fruit of the vine has matured and is casting seeds... and creeping into your path, if you're not eternally vigilant.
Some folks seem to be under the mistaken impression that if they squirt a little Roundup on it, their problems are over. Not so! Once it has blossomed, the only way it can be removed is slash-and-burn Goathead Holocaust.
Here's a pretty little goathead plant, growing up from a crater in the middle of the bike path.
To answer the obvious question - yes, I patched two flat tires this afternoon. (Kevlar-belted tires? Big flippin' deal!)
(All photos were snapped on my home-bound commute, 6 September 2007. Click on any of 'em for larger viewing options. I post these photos in the hopes that all my cycling sisters and brothers can be familiar with the enemy.)
6 comments:
I don't think we get this in Ontario.
get rid of goatheads? 1. roundup 2. dig and haul. 3. More roundup. 4. dig and haul again. Burn them? No it just allows more seeds to actually germinate!! Another methnod is to round up then cover completely with 6mm black plastic for the entire summer. No matter what you do seeds will remain!! Those guys are evil.
get rid of goatheads? 1. roundup 2. dig and haul. 3. More roundup. 4. dig and haul again. Burn them? No it just allows more seeds to actually germinate!! Another methnod is to round up then cover completely with 6mm black plastic for the entire summer. No matter what you do seeds will remain!! Those guys are evil.
Oh how those things suck. Have a good patch kit with you, and a CO2 inflator.
Once you have a mature plant, it's a several-year effort to eradicate it. The seeds can lie dormant for years.
A few years back, I tried to be a "good citizen" and eliminate a thick patch of 'em on a public right-of-way. (I had a personal interest; my kids occasionally rode their bikes to school, and almost every time, they came home with flats. That patch lay between home and school.) I dug-and-hauled for 3 consecutive years. Then I gave up.
(I've got a patch of 'em on my own property that we've been fighting for going on 3 years. No matter how much I hate those plants, I admire their tenacity and ability to survive.)
Thanks for the laugh.
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