Does ragweed grow back after cutting?
We get a lot of ragweed
invading our perimeter.
It's a good thing neither of
us is allergic, but it doesn't take long before it grows high enough
to shade parts of the garden.
Wikipedia recommends pulling
up ragweed in the late spring when the roots are not as strong,
something we might try next year. Mowing is not good enough because if
just a half inch sticks out above the ground it will grow back even
stronger within 2 weeks of non freezing conditions.
Or explore more posts by date or by subject.
About us: Anna Hess and Mark Hamilton spent over a decade living self-sufficiently in the mountains of Virginia before moving north to start over from scratch in the foothills of Ohio. They've experimented with permaculture, no-till gardening, trailersteading, home-based microbusinesses and much more, writing about their adventures in both blogs and books.
Want to be notified when new comments are posted on this page? Click on the RSS button after you add a comment to subscribe to the comment feed, or simply check the box beside "email replies to me" while writing your comment.
Where I grow food (central Texas) I have found it useful to utilize giant ragweed as a summer cover crop. It has many benefits like serious biomass production and shade. It shades out the soil beneath thoroughly and surrounding plants partially. It also acts as a wind break, which at this time of year the wind is real hot and real dry. I've also notices ants herding aphids up their stalks, and plenty of insects of all sorts in its foliage. Also, my rabbit is loving leaves with a little bit of stalk attached.
It being really dry here holds the flower formation until right about now, or whenever we get a rain spell (maybe soon, maybe in weeks) Once they start to form I harvest the biomass for a great compost addition as it aerates the pile and breaks down rather quickly for how coarse it is.
It literally allows life around it to continue on during dreadful conditions(with my help watering just enough of course). When it becomes a problem (the pollen, of which I am severely allergic) I remove it, which is conveniently right at the same time I am ready to plant my beds for our great fall season.
I regard it as a very important part of soil creation and health on my small farm.
Eric --- I don't precisely use it as a cover crop, but have been taking advantage of the massive amounts of biomass as a mulch for our berries and fruit trees when we cut it out. They seem to really like the summer dose, and our bees also love the pollen. (We don't worry too much about cutting it just before the fruiting stage.)
I love your permaculture method of beating the Texas summer heat!