Eradicating Poison Ivy

[elizabeth]

Hello everyone,

I am looking for ways to eradicate poison ivy using children friendly processes. In other words I do not want to use pesticides, but am interested any companion plant combinations or other methods.

Any information is appreciated!!

Elizabeth

[muttabuttasaurus]

I have no personal experience of poison ivy AT ALL, but aren't goats famed to be capable of eating it? If your children and your goats can make friends, how about goats?

[Mont]

G'day. Here's some info from a UK site called Plants for a Future (http://www.comp.leeds.ac.uk/cgi-bin/pfaf/arr). Maybe if you do the opposite of what it likes you might damage the bugger, although it seems pretty versatile. Sorry I can't advise on how to infect it with coral spot fungus, or even if that's a good idea! Good luck.
Mont

'The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils and requires well-drained soil. The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils. It cannot grow in the shade. It requires moist soil. It has brittle branches and these can be broken off in strong winds. Plants are also susceptible to coral spot fungus'.

[elizabeth]

thanks for the ideas!

i've been looking at a few other forums and it looks like sunflowers might help. apparently they have allelopathic qualities that many plants don't like.

cheers!

[Mont]

Sunflowers are hungry feeders so they compete well against other plants but I haven't noticed the plants around ours suffering particularly. The beans use them to climb on. Still, you can give them a try. If worst comes to worst they look great in your garden so you've lost nothing.

[vix]

Could you maybe grow choko over the top of it to smother it out, a la choking out lantana with choko.

[elizabeth]

what's choko? i'm from canada, eh!

[mossbackfarm]

We had a pretty big infestation of poison oak (similar to poison ivy, anyway) at our old place, and the pygmy goats LOVED eating it...as well as the blackberry....

The only caveat is don't get all cuddly with your goats when they have been browsing in the patch....

Rich

[Mont]

Elizabeth, chokos are originally from South America and are known as chochos or chayote there. They're a green, perennial vegetable, shaped like a lightbulb and almost as tasty. They're regarded fondly by many Australians because they remind us of our childhood, when they were boiled white by thorough mothers, and they're handy for covering unsightly fences or backyard toilets with their rampant vines.

Mont

[muttabuttasaurus]

Almost as tastey as a lightbulb? Oh Mont, you do the noble Choko an injustice! Boil the life out of anything and it will taste little better than a lightbulb, but treated with respect the Choko is a wonderful food. Try baking it in olive oil with garlic... Yum.
I can't believe it but they sell Choko's here (in New Mexico, USA) in the supermarket for $3 each. Thats $3 US mind you.(Hmm, there's an idea for the trellis to shade the western wall of the house...)
I don't know if it true but they say McDonalds uses it instead of apples in those things they call apple pie, but they obviously do boil the #### the #### out of them and adulterate them with God knows what...