Nearly two years ago, I wrote about my plan to eliminate the Japanese Knotweed growing so abundantly on the large slope beside our bungalow. No chemicals. Just labor on my part, cutting and cutting the plants until hopefully they gave up.
Then I got a better idea. Give it competition. Grow grass.
Knotweed aka Reynoutria japonicaisan invasive and fast-growing weed from Asia that looks like bamboo, but it isn’t. The plants grow tall and flower. Their roots move horizontally, so you need to keep them away from foundations.
The plant was brought to the U.K. in the early 1800s before it came to the U.S. I was never aware of Knotweed until we moved into our current home, and now, I see it everywhere — along highways and roadsides, empty lots, people’s yards, basically anywhere the soil has been disturbed and the seeds landed. I bet Knotweed took over part of our yard when an addition and a garage were built by previous owners around 1990.
What to do?
Our son, Zack, got two goats to tackle the knotweed growing near the old mill he bought. They love eating the plants, but I wasn’t about to own goats. Trying to smother the Knotweed with a heavy swimming pool cover didn’t last long as the plants just cleverly traveled around it. Besides, it looked like heck.
I read that if you keep cutting Knotweed, say over many years, it would eventually give up. So, that’s what I decided to do, starting in early spring 2024, using my weed whacker with two extension cords to cut the Knotweed every two weeks until the first frost. The photo above shows what the slope looked like during the process — and how thick the Knotweed was.
This was a lot of work and frankly, I didn’t see a significantly diminished crop of Knotweed. It was our son, Ezra, who suggested I try fighting the invasive weed with another — grass.
So, last year before the Knotweed emerged, I raked the ground, and then spread the West County Mix grass seed I bought at the local Shelburne Farm and Garden. I don’t have a faucet for a hose in that part of our yard, so I counted on the rain to water the land.
The seed turned to grass, which turned into a lawn of sorts. I continued to use my weedwhacker every two weeks. My neighbor gave me yellow cone flower plants she said would spread easily. So, I planted them near the perennials growing near the garage. Ferns, growing naturally in a thick row at the top of the slope, help as well.
By fall, the Knotweed was still there, but the plants were noticeably thinner and fewer.
Maybe I was onto something.
This spring, Knotweed hill looked more like a sloping lawn. You can see it in the top photo. It’s not golf course perfect, but I give it a passing grade. When I made my first mow, I only found plants here and there. The grass was noticeably thicker.
Yesterday, when I inspected the area, I found Knotweed sneaking in. The plants must have perked up during that warm weather we had the other day. But so did the grass seed I scattered earlier in the barer spots. In a few days, I will be out there with my weed whacker. (I am pondering a mower although there are a few stumps to contend with here and there on the hill.)
The Knotweed isn’t gone, but it appears I am making progress. Wish me luck that I win this one.