More thoughts on getting rid of Yellow Sorrel (Oxalis Corniculata)

TheGardenLady received this comment on her post “Eradicating Oxalis Corniculata“.

This article does not do justice to the invasive and aggressive nature of Oxalis. If you try this what is described above you will FAIL (guaranteed).

If Oxalis has become such an invasive problem in your area of the country, you should call your county extension office to see what they recommend. Unfortunately there are weeds that are becoming extremely, agressively invasive and are becoming more and more difficult to eradicate safely or easily.

TheGardenLady always recommends the least toxic method of removal of both weeds and insect pests. Her parents were organic gardeners before, I think, the word even became popularized. We pulled all the weeds by hand and picked all the bugs off the plants by hand. I cannot recount the number of Colorado potato beetles I picked off the potato plants as a child or how many of the undersides of leaves I checked looking for the orange-yellow eggs to remove. Of course, potatoes were not our cash crop so it was doable.

My husband, who was a trained chemist, believed in organic methods of gardening. He knew how toxic some of those chemicals could be.

However if there is a product on the market that is still approved by the E.P.A and the local extension office continues to recommend it, TheGardenLady will suggest that the person having the problem try it but with a caveat. User beware! Buyer, READ the LABELS CAREFULLY and FOLLOW DIRECTIONS EXACTLY as on the package. Many of the products that were sold as safe in the past are now taken off the list because the E.P.A has found that they are no longer safe products. And when TheGardenLady does write about a product like she did in the article, she calls and discusses it with the company to see what they have to say and recommends that a person using the product do the same.

In the Tues. Aug. 23, 2009 issue of the New York Times Newspaper there is an article entitled “Debating How Much Weed Killer is Safe in Your Water Glass” by Charles Duhigg which discusses a certain weed killer being used that seeps into the water system and causes major health problems. A follow up article in the New York Times on Aug. 25th entitled “Garden State: Killing Weeds Green” by Clyde Tressler recommends a device for pulling up plants with tap roots, like the Dandelion and the Oxalis which are tricky to pull by hand because the tap root can snap off. This device is called the Weed Hound.  TheGardenLady has never used this product. Remember, when using toxic weed killers that you are not just harming the weed and yourself, you are making a negative impact on the larger environment like the water, earth, air and your neighbors- some whom you don’t even know.

TheGardenLady appreciates comments about her articles. But for the readers and her own interest and knowledge, she feels that it is a disservice to write that “the article does not do justice to the invasive and aggressive nature of Oxalis” without going into detail about why you write this. If you have experience eradicating the noxious weed, let us know what works. Gardening is a learning experience for us all.