(K)Notweed Acres

When I first moved into my apartment in Brooklyn 3 years ago, I was excited at the prospect of having a vegetable garden in the backyard. Unfortunately, the space was incredibly overgrown with weeds and strewn with trash, to boot. The first order of business, then, was to prep the landscape for some raised beds. Turned out that this task was easier said than done; I didn't know it then, but the predominant weed was Japanese knotweed and it would not die without a serious fight.

My experience with knotweed is that it's nearly invincible. I've tried to pull the plants. I've tried to dig and pull the roots. I've tried to quarantine the raised beds with weed-block fabric. I've tried herbicide. So far, nothing has worked over the long term. In the end, I've found that the best way to combat this terror is to be out in the garden pulling weeds at least twice a week. The pieces that I pull go directly into the trash; any stray leftovers can and will sprout on their own.

Anyway, given the headache I've endured for some homegrown produce, you can imagine my desire to experiment with these little saviors...