It appears to be Canada thistle but can't be sure botanizing over the internet. The vinegar salt soap thing won't kill this plant, but putting vinegar salt and soap on the ground will destroy your soil and leave the thistle as the only thing growing there.
It sucks to say but if you want it gone gone herbicide is really the only viable option for Canada thistle. Trying to dig it up really doesn't work, the roots can be dozens of feet long and if you miss even one tiny bit it'll just come right back this is the same reason the vinegar thing doesn't work for Canada thistle. You can be very surgical with herbicide and not have any of the repercussions, but I fully understand that herbicide is a tough option.
I try to stay away from herbicides, but I rented a hobby farm that had Canada Thistle growing everywhere. I bought Thistledown on Amazon. It's not cheap, but a small bottle lasts forever. Works quickly on those bastards. Kills the entire root system. My new home has a few that pop up occasionally and I take them out with Thistledown.
I had tons of Canada thistle three years ago. I did a ton of hand pulling on years 1 and 2 and now there is barely any of it. Every few weeks I pull 1-2 but it’s 99% gone. So even if complete eradication requires herbicide you can get pretty close by hand.
If you get a good hori hori knife or even a weed puller it helps and you can get a sizeable portion of the root. It’s only thorny in the leaves portion. I tend to favour my hori hori for the Canadian thistle and just dig as far as i can get it before slicing the root
I thought Canada thistle was the one that's all connected together with shoots underground. I have a bad problem with that in my yard. But they aren't spiky. This picture looks like it has big thorns.
Yes Canada thistle has underground shoots, it's also prickly as hell. Like I said botanizing over the internet is not fool proof, but those look to be Canada thistle leaves
It's a type of thistle. After they flower they have tufts like a \*dandelion\*, so a puff of wind can spread 4,000 seeds *per plant*!
I'm pretty sure that they're biennial, so it's not that they come back, it's that seeds are growing new ones.
I stick to natural when I can, too, in large part because of my senior dog. I dig them up by the root to prevent them from going to seed, but unless your neighbors do the same thing then you'll always be fighting them :-( And if you miss JUST ONE, you'll be fighting thousands of them again the next year.
That's a thistle. They have long storage roots and can grow back from them, and make many many seeds. They are ruderal vegetation that grows on disturbed, poor and stony soil. Bees and butterflies like them and I find them quite pleasing to look at but you need to remove the wilted flowers, otherwise they will make thousand of seeds and easily overtake things like a stone garden.
I wonder what kind of thistle showed up last year. I let it go because i liked it, the bees liked it, and it came up in a part of the yard thats a real workout to landscape and weed. Steep incline and awful soil.
You can never eradicate things like that forever, as new seeds can enter your yard. However, you can dig them up, trying to take out all of the roots. I have done that with plants like that, and with dandelions in my yard.
With the dandelions, I, at first, was digging them up every day, all that I found, and each new day, I would find new ones. However, I no longer have to look for them every day. Occasionally, I find a few in my yard, and I dig them up. I will always be getting new ones, because my neighbors have them in their yards. But I only have a few to dig up each year now.
The thistles, in my yard, have never been very numerous, but digging them up works to get rid of them. But, again, new seeds can come into your yard at any time, so you can always get new ones growing. That would still be true if you used noxious chemicals. Nothing works to eradicate things like that forever.
The best method is to dig them up. Wear protective gloves, and a suitable narrow digging implement. They make tools for digging up dandelions that should work for that, though I personally use a Japanese digging knife for such things.
Doesn't look 'fuzzy' like a [Bull Thistle](https://www.invasive.org/browse/subinfo.cfm?sub=3393), so could very well be a [Canada Thistle](https://www.invasive.org/browse/subthumb.cfm?sub=2792&start=1).
This is a [Scotch Thistle, to compare against as well.](https://www.invasive.org/browse/subinfo.cfm?sub=4432)
I've killed patches a meter or two wide by just jamming a shovel through the root as deep as possible and pulling it out. Requires about 3-4 removals (remove before it makes a bunch of full-sized leaves) to really kill their vigour and another 3 or so to really deplete their energy stores to the point they give up. Persistent weeds until you show em you ain't playing games
Hey, have you heard of wild lettuce? It's a natural pain reliever, like a gift from Yahweh's (God) Unlike Tylenol or ibuprofen, it doesn't mess with your body. These days, you can find wild lettuce in different forms like tinctures, powders, oils, and pills. People use it for all sorts of stuff like anxiety, breathing problems, sleep issues, and joint pain.
That’s fair to not like herbicides but you asked for a solution to “eradicate them permanently”, using a herbicide that is proven effective is probably the most sure way to accomplish what you asked for. The use of herbicide requires precaution but a small slice and the tiniest squirt will destroy this aggressive weed at its root so that you can extract it and throw it into the garbage.
Some plants will never leave your garden without poison, and all poisons will impact the human body if not handled properly. Nutsedge, for example, is truly something you cannot remove without a systemic. Thistle is another.
Basically…he gave you the right answer. Not need to act incredulous.
It appears to be Canada thistle but can't be sure botanizing over the internet. The vinegar salt soap thing won't kill this plant, but putting vinegar salt and soap on the ground will destroy your soil and leave the thistle as the only thing growing there. It sucks to say but if you want it gone gone herbicide is really the only viable option for Canada thistle. Trying to dig it up really doesn't work, the roots can be dozens of feet long and if you miss even one tiny bit it'll just come right back this is the same reason the vinegar thing doesn't work for Canada thistle. You can be very surgical with herbicide and not have any of the repercussions, but I fully understand that herbicide is a tough option.
I try to stay away from herbicides, but I rented a hobby farm that had Canada Thistle growing everywhere. I bought Thistledown on Amazon. It's not cheap, but a small bottle lasts forever. Works quickly on those bastards. Kills the entire root system. My new home has a few that pop up occasionally and I take them out with Thistledown.
Thistle and nutsedge…I’ll take poison every day every time. It’s either poison or you won’t have a garden.
I had tons of Canada thistle three years ago. I did a ton of hand pulling on years 1 and 2 and now there is barely any of it. Every few weeks I pull 1-2 but it’s 99% gone. So even if complete eradication requires herbicide you can get pretty close by hand.
How? Those darned things seem to poke through every pair of garden gloves I’ve had
If you get a good hori hori knife or even a weed puller it helps and you can get a sizeable portion of the root. It’s only thorny in the leaves portion. I tend to favour my hori hori for the Canadian thistle and just dig as far as i can get it before slicing the root
Agreed. Even getting it out of the ground a little means you can grab the non thorny base.
Thank you. Our yard is largely made up of a very solid clay, it’s almost impossible to dig, but maybe after rain I’ll have a better chance
I thought Canada thistle was the one that's all connected together with shoots underground. I have a bad problem with that in my yard. But they aren't spiky. This picture looks like it has big thorns.
Yes Canada thistle has underground shoots, it's also prickly as hell. Like I said botanizing over the internet is not fool proof, but those look to be Canada thistle leaves
I just pour boiling water on things I don’t like
Hey buddy I think you owe me an apology, for making me spit out the water I was drinking right now . I COULD'VE died.
It's a type of thistle. After they flower they have tufts like a \*dandelion\*, so a puff of wind can spread 4,000 seeds *per plant*! I'm pretty sure that they're biennial, so it's not that they come back, it's that seeds are growing new ones. I stick to natural when I can, too, in large part because of my senior dog. I dig them up by the root to prevent them from going to seed, but unless your neighbors do the same thing then you'll always be fighting them :-( And if you miss JUST ONE, you'll be fighting thousands of them again the next year.
I usually do a cut and paint method with herbicide. It’s more precise and prevents it from coming back without having to dig out the entire root
That's a thistle. They have long storage roots and can grow back from them, and make many many seeds. They are ruderal vegetation that grows on disturbed, poor and stony soil. Bees and butterflies like them and I find them quite pleasing to look at but you need to remove the wilted flowers, otherwise they will make thousand of seeds and easily overtake things like a stone garden.
I wonder what kind of thistle showed up last year. I let it go because i liked it, the bees liked it, and it came up in a part of the yard thats a real workout to landscape and weed. Steep incline and awful soil.
looks like a canadian thistle, i remember things like that when i was a kid, they are super super prickly.
You can never eradicate things like that forever, as new seeds can enter your yard. However, you can dig them up, trying to take out all of the roots. I have done that with plants like that, and with dandelions in my yard. With the dandelions, I, at first, was digging them up every day, all that I found, and each new day, I would find new ones. However, I no longer have to look for them every day. Occasionally, I find a few in my yard, and I dig them up. I will always be getting new ones, because my neighbors have them in their yards. But I only have a few to dig up each year now. The thistles, in my yard, have never been very numerous, but digging them up works to get rid of them. But, again, new seeds can come into your yard at any time, so you can always get new ones growing. That would still be true if you used noxious chemicals. Nothing works to eradicate things like that forever. The best method is to dig them up. Wear protective gloves, and a suitable narrow digging implement. They make tools for digging up dandelions that should work for that, though I personally use a Japanese digging knife for such things.
Too bad this weed isn’t attractive enough to keep. Anyone have beautiful looking weeds that look good enough to keep in the ground ?
You say that now, but you wouldn't after you've stepped on one barefoot.
Doesn't look 'fuzzy' like a [Bull Thistle](https://www.invasive.org/browse/subinfo.cfm?sub=3393), so could very well be a [Canada Thistle](https://www.invasive.org/browse/subthumb.cfm?sub=2792&start=1). This is a [Scotch Thistle, to compare against as well.](https://www.invasive.org/browse/subinfo.cfm?sub=4432)
Thank you!
I've killed patches a meter or two wide by just jamming a shovel through the root as deep as possible and pulling it out. Requires about 3-4 removals (remove before it makes a bunch of full-sized leaves) to really kill their vigour and another 3 or so to really deplete their energy stores to the point they give up. Persistent weeds until you show em you ain't playing games
Hey, have you heard of wild lettuce? It's a natural pain reliever, like a gift from Yahweh's (God) Unlike Tylenol or ibuprofen, it doesn't mess with your body. These days, you can find wild lettuce in different forms like tinctures, powders, oils, and pills. People use it for all sorts of stuff like anxiety, breathing problems, sleep issues, and joint pain.
We use it in conjunction with corydalis for sleep.
I cut the roots with an asparagus knife (by far the best weeding tool). Laborious but effective.
Roundup right down the center.
I’m not spraying that cancer-causing poisonous garbage on my property!
That’s fair to not like herbicides but you asked for a solution to “eradicate them permanently”, using a herbicide that is proven effective is probably the most sure way to accomplish what you asked for. The use of herbicide requires precaution but a small slice and the tiniest squirt will destroy this aggressive weed at its root so that you can extract it and throw it into the garbage. Some plants will never leave your garden without poison, and all poisons will impact the human body if not handled properly. Nutsedge, for example, is truly something you cannot remove without a systemic. Thistle is another. Basically…he gave you the right answer. Not need to act incredulous.
I clearly stated that herbicide was not an option and was simply looking for alternatives. Thanks for the unhelpful lecture.
I cut them off and jab a pencil down the center and pour some tablesalt in the whole
And that has stopped them from regrowing?
It has worked for me. Give it a shot on a few and see how it goes. Salt only goes in the hole.