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Just Grow Something | Evidence-Based Home Gardening

How to Identify and Manage Perennial Weeds (Without the Viral Sprays) - Ep. 303

June 2 · 52 min · Episode 303 · 50.6 MB
0:00-52:42

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Perennial weeds are in a different category than annuals. They don’t just re-seed, they regrow from the ground up, season after season, from root systems that can run three feet deep or spread fifteen feet sideways underground. In this episode, we’re tackling them systematically. First, a regional tour of the most aggressive perennial weeds in the U.S. - what they look like, how they spread, and why they’re so hard to beat.

Then, we work on management using Integrated Pest Management principles, starting with prevention and exclusion, moving through cultural and mechanical controls, and knowing when chemical options are appropriate.

Finally, we close with a hard look at the homemade internet sprays that are all over social media - and why some of them could do more damage to your soil than the weeds ever would.

Let's dig in.

References:

  1. Montana State University Extension – Field Bindweed (Convolvulus arvensis) MontGuide MT201903AG
    https://apps.msuextension.org/montguide/guide.html?sku=MT201903AG

  2. University of Nevada, Reno Extension – Managing Field Bindweed (Publication 4834)
    https://extension.unr.edu/publication.aspx?PubID=4834

  3. University of Minnesota Extension – Perennial Weeds Identification Guide
    https://extension.umn.edu/weed-identification/perennial-weeds

  4. University of Minnesota Extension – Canada Thistle Identification
    https://extension.umn.edu/identify-invasive-species/canada-thistle

  5. University of Maryland Extension – Canada Thistle
    https://extension.umd.edu/resource/canada-thistle

  6. Colorado State University Extension – Canada Thistle
    https://extension.colostate.edu/resource/canada-thistle/

  7. SARE (Sustainable Agriculture Research & Education) – Canada Thistle: Manage Weeds on Your Farm
    https://www.sare.org/publications/manage-weeds-on-your-farm/canada-thistle/

  8. NC State Extension Plant Toolbox – Sorghum halepense (Johnsongrass)
    https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/sorghum-halepense/

  9. University of Georgia Extension – Johnsongrass Control in Pastures, Roadsides, and Noncropland Areas
    https://fieldreport.caes.uga.edu/?p=62642

  10. Schantz, M.C. (2025). Johnsongrass (Sorghum halepense): a review of its invasion, management, and spread in the changing climate of the Southern Great Plains. Weed Science, 73(e31), 1–7.
    https://doi.org/10.1017/wsc.2025.7

  11. University of Maryland Extension – Poison Hemlock Identification and Management
    https://extension.umd.edu/resource/poison-hemlock-identification-and-management

  12. Montana State University Extension – Poison Hemlock MontGuide MT200013AG
    https://apps.msuextension.org/montguide/guide.html?sku=MT200013AG

  13. Purdue Extension – Poison Hemlock: Invasive Plant Series (FNR-437-W)
    https://www.extension.purdue.edu/extmedia/fnr/fnr-437-w.pdf

  14. Mississippi State University Extension – Kudzu
    https://extension.msstate.edu/publications/kudzu

  15. Mississippi State University Extension – Torpedograss (Panicum repens)
    https://extension.msstate.edu/publications/torpedograss

  16. UC IPM – Nutsedge (Yellow and Purple)
    https://ipm.ucanr.edu/PMG/WEEDS/nutsedge.html

  17. West Virginia University Extension – Yellow Nutsedge (Cyperus esculentus)
    https://extension.wvu.edu/lawn-gardening-pests/weeds/yellow-nutsedge

  18. Penn State Extension – Japanese and Giant Knotweed
    https://extension.psu.edu/japanese-and-giant-knotweed

  19. University of Wisconsin Extension – Perennial Knotweed Identification (Mark Renz, Extension Weed Scientist)
    https://renzweedscience.cals.wisc.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/177/2025/05/Perennial-knotweed-identification.pdf

  20. Oregon State University Extension – Solve Pest Problems: Grasses & Grass-Like Pacific Northwest Weeds
    https://solvepestproblems.oregonstate.edu/weeds/grass-like

  21. Washington State University – Perennial Weed Control in the Pacific Northwest (PNW Pest Management Handbooks)
    https://pnwhandbooks.org/weed/agronomic/corn/field-silage-seed/perennial-weed-control-quackgrass-field-bindweed-canada-thistle-johnsongrass-etc-0

  22. Colorado State University Extension – Weed Management (IPM)
    https://extension.colostate.edu/resource/weed-management/

  23. NC State Extension – Extension Gardener Handbook, Chapter 8: Integrated Pest Management
    https://content.ces.ncsu.edu/extension-gardener-handbook/8-integrated-pest-management-ipm

  24. Washington State University – Weed Management (Pesticide Resources and Education Program)
    https://pep.wsu.edu/weedmanagement/

  25. UC IPM – Soil Solarization for Gardens and Landscapes
    https://ipm.ucanr.edu/home-and-landscape/soil-solarization-for-gardens-landscapes/

  26. University of Vermont Extension – Tarping, Solarization and Occultation
    https://www.uvm.edu/extension/news/tarping-solarization-and-occultation

  27. UConn Extension – Homemade Pesticide Issues: Understanding the Science (EXT014, Updated 2024)
    https://extension.uconn.edu/publication/homemade-pesticides/

  28. Ask Extension (Cooperative Extension National Q&A Service) – Vinegar, Salt, and Dawn Weed Killer
    https://ask.extension.org/kb/faq.php?id=888177

  29. University of Florida IFAS Extension – Chapter 4: Integrated Pest Management (Weed Management Categories)
    https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/publication/CV298

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