And Now It's Summer

We've gone from jackets and woodstoves to sleeveless shirts in a week. Welcome to gardening in Maryland. No wonder only the strong survive, including the invasives we seem to have cropping up everywhere (thanks in part to increased CO2). Bindweed (Convolvulus arvensis) is my particular nemesis. It looks like a white morning glory, but it's no Ipomoea ( and whatever you do. don't let it bloom!). It can grow overtop the lilies and drag them down inside two or three days and can smother a vegetable patch in a week if not checked. The non-chemical recommendations for this misery are first prevention (well duh) persistent hand-pulling, flame-throwers (!),and gall mites, an ostensible beneficial. But I'm leery of introducing a non-native 'cure' into the mix, mindful that we don't really know enough, usually, before we plonk for the cure-all solution. The perfect pill for everything. Japanese Kudzu, originally an ornamental, was introduced as an erosion control in the 1930's or so, while gypsy moths were to be a cure for the flagging silk industry. We know how they both turned out.
My current frustrated approach to bindweed is to pull the earliest stuff, plant what I want in the semi-cleared spaces, yank more, plant some more, and Roundup what I can once the bindweed leaves grow large enough to hit effectively with Roundup ( since it's a systemic and the leaves need to be large enough to take in a goodly dose). That's how I 'cured' the Canada thistle, introduced through some straw mulch, that took over my garden about a decade ago. The thistle is under control enough now that I can dig every little plant that pops up. I've been at the bindweed, which is not officially a noxious weed (meaning the law requires you to eradicate it) for several years now not terribly effectively -- partly since the campaign has been interrupted by sailing and other more pleasurable pursuits. Meanwhile I'm yanking and planting.