City of Wall Says Give Em’ a Pull to Help with the Invadion of Weeds

There are a few plants that don’t seem to mind the ongoing drought. A few of them can be used as cover crop or even have some herbal uses, but many of them are weeds. The current South Dakota, and Pennington County lists of declared noxious weeds name twelve officially banned species which includes Hoary Cress, Sow Thistle, Canada Thistle, Purple Loosestrife, Common Tansy, Oxeye Daisy, Puncturevine, Spotted Knapweed, Sulfur Cinquefoil, Salt Cedar, Houndstoungue, and Leafy Spurge. The photos surrounding this text are their mugshots.
Most (if not all) gardeners, or homeowners have seen them creeping up around their properties in onslaughts, many times after heavy rain. They are also likely aware that the above list of twelve plants falls quite short of numerating the diversity of unwanted visitors needing pulling, poisoning or both. There are other species which can present a problem such Dandelion, Creeping Jenny, Broadleaf Plantain, Wormwood, and the list goes on.
The reason that twelve specific species have made their way to the most wanted list is their propensities to have costly, ill effects for soil on agricultural land, and become notoriously difficult to eliminate once they have colonized areas in large numbers.
 The City of Wall has recently reached out to remind citizens to band together to stop these invaders in your front and back yards. It’s easy for the analytical mind to go on a quest to match the official lists against the lineup of candidates squatting in their back yards, and attempt to save time and effort rounding up the whole plant kingdom by diagnosing a portion of these surprise guests as benign. At least inside town, a better method might be to just eliminate anything that has sprung up uninvited. Here are a few reasons why: #1 The visitors that follow. Weed cover provides a shady respite for Garter, Bull, or even Rattle-snakes, and many pesky bugs such as earwigs, spiders and ants inhabit the soil around the bases and roots of these weeds. #2 Your Neighbor’s hard work up in smoke. Let’s not forget that the level of concern or pride in ones own lawn and garden may not match that of ones neighbor. Consequently those folks may spend quite a lot of time and money curating their own slice of the dream. It’s a kind and neighborly endeavor to keep the seeds and runners in your yard from propagating across property lines that don’t really mean anything to a weed. #3 Tourist traffic can bring exotic hitchhikers. With license plates from at least 49 states passing through and staying to play, there are opportunities for seeds, and rooting portions of plant matter to fall from the frames of vehicles and RVs. Your efforts may be the first line of defense in keeping the local official list of noxious weeds from expanding.
With interstate tourism booming, many residents are working long hours, and the effect of the recent oppressive heat wave on motivation and productivity is well understood by anyone who’s stepped outside, but it’s time to wrangle up some gusto and fight the good fight.
Remember to wear gloves, watch for snakes and bugs, and read the instructions on your herbicides. Many weed killers will not work effectively, or will kill surrounding grasses if used in extreme heat. Lets get out there and give em’ a pull!

The Pioneer Review

221 E. Oak Street
Philip, SD 57567
Telephone: (605) 859-2516
E Mail: ads@pioneer-review.com

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