Garlic Mustard Invasion
Garlic mustard displaces native forest under story species, reducing diversity and decreasing forage availability for deer. Frequently invaded habitat types include forest opening edges, roads, streamsides, trails and agriculture land; it thrives in the partial shade. Displacement occurs rapidly, often within 10 years of establishment. This plant is very difficult to control once established.
East Multnomah Soil and Water Conservation District has again provided a dumpster for disposing of pulled and bagged garlic mustard. It is located at the old grade school site on the Historic Highway in front of the ball field across the street from the Corbett Water District. It is marked GARLIC MUSTARD DUMPSTER. A tracking sheet is located below it. Please fill out all information requested so they can track how much time was spent pulling garlic mustard and where it came from. Only use this for disposing of garlic mustard! Email questions to lucas@emswcd.org or call 503-935-5363.
John Cowan with the Oregon State Parks
[ To the left is John Cowan, with Oregon State Parks, explaining Garlic Mustard to a group of kids from the Corbett Grade School who spent time pulling Garlic Mustard by Latourelle Falls on April 29, 2010 ::: When you pull Garlic mustard - be sure to grab low on the stalk and wiggle to loosen the roots. Make sure the flower head ( where the seeds are ) gets put completely into a garbage bag - or it can just spread the seeds. The roots of this plant create a toxin that actually kills off its neighbors and allows it to spread more easily. ]
Corbett Grade School pulling Garlic Mustard
Description
Biennial; rosettes form by midsummer the first year, blooms May to June second year. Grows an average of one to three feet tall. Basal leaves dark green, kidney shaped, scalloped and two to four inches in diameter. Stem leaves alternate, sharply toothed, triangular, get smaller towards the top of the stem and produce a distinct garlic odor when crushed. Flower stalks usually single and unbranched. Flowers one quarter inch wide with four white petals that narrow at base.
ODA Plant Division Web Site
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Where did it come from?
Garlic mustard was first recorded in the United States about 1868, from Long Island, New York. It was likely introduced by settlers for food or medicinal purposes. More here; http://www.dcnr.state.pa.us/forestry/invasivetutorial/garlic_mustard.htm
This needs to be front and center of the next monthy e newsletter. Also, first thing in April next year, so we can be looking out and planning for the invasion. The folks at Menucha had a forum on Garlic Mustard eradication last week and plan to do so again in 2011. Corbett seems to be ‘Ground Zero’ for the west coast infestation. Not a good thing to be known for and with all our national and international visitors to the Gorge, we could unwittingly allow the scourge to spread exponentially. Let us all be heros and stop it now!
Thanks Collyn. I will be sure to add it to the next e-newsletter. I will also be sure it gets in early next year. Unfortunately the e-newsletters are only getting out every couple months due to lack of time on my part. Be sure to add your comments or information to the community forum too! Maybe under LOCAL NEWS? http://corbettoregon.com/forum/index.php?board=29.0
When garlic mustard (Alliaria petiolata) was brought to North America from Europe more than a century ago, no one predicted it would carpet thousands of acres of forestland, choke out native plants and even disrupt the development of a rare native butterfly, Pieris napi oleracea.
The invasive plant grows across vast forest regions, it is virtually… See More impossible to manage by hand-pulling or with herbicides. In addition, a single garlic mustard plant can produce nearly 8,000 seeds, which are tracked and spread by deer and are especially long-lived in the soil. That means it can take a decade or more of weed management to do the job, even if an infestation is limited in scope.
• If you have small patches of garlic mustard, try pulling them by hand. But make certain to remove the roots. If you don’t, the plants may become more competitive than ever.
• Use a string trimmer to cut back garlic mustard before it goes to seed. That will help you to contain its spread.
• If you have patches of garlic mustard that are too large to manage by hand or by trimmer, spray them with the herbicide 2,4-D just after the seedlings emerge in the spring. Since garlic mustard comes up early, spraying as soon as the weed sprouts makes it less likely that you will damage native plants.
• Regardless of the control measure you use, remember to repeat the process annually until the garlic mustard no longer grows back.
“To keep garlic mustard from taking over, it’s important to catch it early,” Davis said. “So get acquainted with the native species in your area and ask local extension agents to help you identify new plants you don’t know.”
– http://southwestfarmpress.com/news/garlic-mustard-1217/
After removing the garlic mustard plants, is there a certain native plant (seed) that you would recommend to plant in its place?