Sorrel Sorrows

Now that we've mostly tamed the unruly and nasty multiflora roses up here (only the ones on the ridge, mind you...there are still huge ones in the woods and across the road by the creek), I've discovered my next most hated weed:  Sheep Sorrel (Rumex acetosella). 

Photo courtesy of WildFoods.info

Last summer I weeded, fertilized and mulched around most of the trees we have planted, the nine ornamental pears along the drive, the blueberries in the garden, and over half of the orchard fruit trees.  As soon as I did that, the Sheep Sorrel took over around each of them.

Today I had planned to tackle weeding the stretch of garden down towards the bottom.  There is a section of about 10 feet by 50 feet between the asparagus bed and the last row of raised beds that hasn't been attended.  Once I got started, I realized that it is coming up almost solid with Sheep Sorrel. 

I used to enjoy this plant as a child.  It is an easily identifiable edible weed with a vinegary flavor.  We would frequently add leaves of sorrel to our salads when I was young.  Now, I am waging war with this obnoxious plant.  It not only spreads by seed (and I'm positive that no sorrel went to seed in my garden last year,) but by rhizomes as well.  I worked for a couple of hours digging those suckers out today, and several times followed root systems that went on for 2-3 feet, with little plants every few inches.  Needless to say, I did not get very far in my weeding!

I finally gave up and came inside to educate myself on the eradication of Sheep Sorrel on the Internet.  What I discovered was quite interesting, and fairly encouraging!  It seems that sorrel grows well in poor soil - no surprise there...that part of the garden has never really been amended.  In fact, some farmers see its growth as a sign that they need to lime the soil.  These plants enjoy acidic, low nitrogen environments.  So, amending the soil with fertilizer and lime, along with diligence on my part with weeding, should eventually eradicate the sorrel, or at least get it to a manageable level.  I was going to plant tomatoes down there this year, but perhaps I should plant my beans there instead?

After my discouraging morning in the garden, we spent some time across the road by the creek this afternoon.  This area of our property has been neglected for decades, and is unfortunately down stream from several families who see fit to throw all their trash out in their back yards.  A couple of years ago, we found some hardy apple trees down there, overgrown amongst grape vines and multiflora roses, some of which are 10 feet tall (the roses, that is!)  They need a lot of TLC, but there is so much potential down there.

A couple of years ago, the land around the creek was extremely marshy and muddy.  My Dad spent a day pulling a bunch of trash, including old tires and fallen trees, out of the creek.  Since then, it is running better and flooding less.  The land has dried out.  Today, for the first time, I got a picture of that area as it could be:  a meadow, dotted with apple trees, and nary a broken bucket or pop can to be seen. 

We have been doing our part to get it that way!  We hauled a 55 gallon trash bag and a large bin full of trash out of there today, along with a 5 gallon bucket full of broken glass and what appears to be the shattered tank of a toilet.  UGH!  We have also been trying for a couple of years, to get a neighbor to clear the area with his bulldozer. 

Perhaps 2013 is the year of the Wisecarver Run Reclamation Project.  We'll see what we can get accomplished!