Bokashi and weeds

flowerbug

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Probably. If it's not the exact same thing it is a real close relative. The nutsedge I'm referring to is an extremely invasive weed. It is a sedge, not a grass. It grows from a "nut" that might be close to the soil surface or down more than a foot. The photos I saw for Tiger Nuts looked petty large, most I find are smaller. Some really small.

They grow from a nut that overwinters, down here some might even grow and reproduce during our winters. They also grow from seed, not just the tubers. When the plant gets about 6 leaves, which is pretty quickly, it starts sending out rhizomes which become new plants, each forming it's own nut. They can quickly overwhelm an area. I absolutely do not recommend you start your own patch of Tiger Nuts, I think you will greatly regret it.

I saw nutsedge growing where I put in my raised beds so I removed the top 5 or 6 inches of soil to remove most nuts and seeds. There were other benefits too but the nutsedge is what made me do it without thinking further, in some areas it was a solid mat. It did not get rid of all of them but at least got the numbers down to manageable. When I see a nutsedge growing in there I immediately get rid of it so it doesn't reproduce. If I can, I trace it down to find the nut which can resprout several times. But often I can't dig that deep a hole because of what else is growing in there.

i've had to clear it out of gardens where it has gotten started. it takes a few seasons of dedicated efforts to get it all out. one garden where it is at now i need to renovate anyways, but i keep pulling whatever does grow when i get a chance, not often or consistent enough to eradicate it but at least i'm not letting it go to seed or spread much. it is fighting with thyme so that also helps limit its growth.

there are areas in the grassy lawn that have it, i pull it when i can. the ditch out front is loaded with it. :( much of what gets spread around comes from the lawn mower.
 

Ridgerunner

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The 'nuts' from nutsedge....does this refer to Tigernuts (earth almonds)?
I dug this out of one of my raised beds two years ago. That's how far I had to go to get the nut so it would not just grow back.

Nut Sedge.jpg
 

heirloomgal

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Wow, what a weed. I googled both nut sedge and tiger nut, and yup, related - both are Cyperus, one esculentes and the other rotundus. I don't think that Cyperus esculentes can survive our winters here. A gardener I know in Manitoba grows it and has to dig up the nuts and keep them inside for the winter and replant in spring to pots. Though I should confirm this with her, just in case, as I don't want to create a huge problem for myself This is a bag I bought recently - 9 dollars for 8 oz. which is part of why I'd like to grow some instead of buy them. The seeds for Cyperus esculentes here are quite sought after and rather expensively priced from seed vendors and I think there are often as few as 15 - 20 seeds in a packet. I'd like to plant a few of these and see what happens if I can determine with 100% certainty they can't survive our winters.

But I am rather surprised to hear that flowerbug has this sedge, as my province is right next to his state. I've not heard of a weed with a nut buried beneath it.

20220316_200859_resized.jpg
 
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jbosmith

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Probably. If it's not the exact same thing it is a real close relative. The nutsedge I'm referring to is an extremely invasive weed. It is a sedge, not a grass. It grows from a "nut" that might be close to the soil surface or down more than a foot. The photos I saw for Tiger Nuts looked petty large, most I find are smaller. Some really small.

They grow from a nut that overwinters, down here some might even grow and reproduce during our winters. They also grow from seed, not just the tubers. When the plant gets about 6 leaves, which is pretty quickly, it starts sending out rhizomes which become new plants, each forming it's own nut. They can quickly overwhelm an area. I absolutely do not recommend you start your own patch of Tiger Nuts, I think you will greatly regret it.

I saw nutsedge growing where I put in my raised beds so I removed the top 5 or 6 inches of soil to remove most nuts and seeds. There were other benefits too but the nutsedge is what made me do it without thinking further, in some areas it was a solid mat. It did not get rid of all of them but at least got the numbers down to manageable. When I see a nutsedge growing in there I immediately get rid of it so it doesn't reproduce. If I can, I trace it down to find the nut which can resprout several times. But often I can't dig that deep a hole because of what else is growing in there.
It's funny how different weeds are from location to location. I see nutsedge in my garden from time to time but it's never invasive here. When I had a half acre garden I'd get maybe 2-3 of them per year. Don't judge me too harshly but I always thought it was kind of cute. :p The way that bindweed takes over in the deep south is also shocking.
 

jbosmith

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Wow, what a weed. I googled both nut sedge and tiger nut, and yup, related - both are Cyperus, one esculentes and the other rotundus. I don't think that Cyperus esculentes can survive our winters here. A gardener I know in Manitoba grows it and has to dig up the nuts and keep them inside for the winter and replant in spring to pots. Though I should confirm this with her, just in case, as I don't want to create a huge problem for myself This is a bag I bought recently - 9 dollars for 8 oz. which is part of why I'd like to grow some instead of buy them. The seeds for Cyperus esculentes here are quite sought after and rather expensively priced from seed vendors and I think there are often as few as 15 - 20 seeds in a packet. I'd like to plant a few of these and see what happens if I can determine with 100% certainty they can't survive our winters.

But I am rather surprised to hear that flowerbug has this sedge, as my province is right next to his state. I've not heard of a weed with a nut buried beneath it.

View attachment 47546
I have never heard of these! :-o

Edit: After some googling I'm pretty sure this is the same as the 'chufa' that people plant in their chicken yard mixes here.
 

heirloomgal

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I have never heard of these! :-o

Edit: After some googling I'm pretty sure this is the same as the 'chufa' that people plant in their chicken yard mixes here.
That's another synonym for it, there's a bunch, earth almonds, yellow nutsedge, atadwe. They are YUMMY! Especially soaked overnight, so chewy and sweet...
:drool
 

Ridgerunner

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It's funny how different weeds are from location to location. I see nutsedge in my garden from time to time but it's never invasive here.
Same thing is true for certain pests. For some people certain pests are present but not really a problem. For others they are a disaster. There is a phrase for that, "All gardening is local"
 

flowerbug

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It's funny how different weeds are from location to location. I see nutsedge in my garden from time to time but it's never invasive here. When I had a half acre garden I'd get maybe 2-3 of them per year. Don't judge me too harshly but I always thought it was kind of cute. :p The way that bindweed takes over in the deep south is also shocking.

oh it can take over up here too. i have to keep a watch out for that and other species which like to colonize the gardens. once they get established it's a lot of work to get rid of them again. horsetail is constantly trying to invade, other weeds too. the best defense is well covered ground.
 

heirloomgal

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oh it can take over up here too. i have to keep a watch out for that and other species which like to colonize the gardens. once they get established it's a lot of work to get rid of them again. horsetail is constantly trying to invade, other weeds too. the best defense is well covered ground.
Horsetail....:rant
The worst weed I've known in my vegetable garden. This is from wiki -

"Horsetail is a derivative of larger plants that grew 270 million years ago during the carboniferous period."

No wonder it's so impossible to beat! That said, mulching for years has knocked it back quite a bit. Nothing like a good smothering.
 

flowerbug

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Horsetail....:rant
The worst weed I've known in my vegetable garden. This is from wiki -

"Horsetail is a derivative of larger plants that grew 270 million years ago during the carboniferous period."

No wonder it's so impossible to beat! That said, mulching for years has knocked it back quite a bit. Nothing like a good smothering.

i had it spread over much of the North garden and was able to beat it back with hand digging the entire area but also going along the edge and taking up all the edging and chasing all of those roots around. there may even still be spots of it in there here or there now, but when i see them i now know to get right in there and go for all of the roots i can possibly find. wow, hard to believe that was over 10 years ago... time is a marching on... :)


pictures of that eradication effort are in the following project page:

 

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