Golf Nut Planet

Musings on Life, the Universe and Everything

  • About the Golf Nut

Spurge – Most Annoying Summertime Weed

by Dr. Dennis Clark 2 Comments

Okay, spurge still isn’t as annoying as puncture vine. It is getting there, though. I find it nearly everywhere I go. It’s in the gravel. It is in the lawn. It is all over central Arizona. I noticed it in lawns in St. Louis on a recent trip there.

Now I just want it to go away. Ain’t happening, though.

Admirable Persistence

Weeds are persistent. They could be models for Calvin Coolidge’s advice that persistence is the only requirement for success.

The local spurge (Euphorbia sp., Euphorbiaceae) is somewhat interesting. Like other members of the rubber tree family, it makes a polyterpene resin that we call rubber. That’s fun to know, isn’t it?

The latex can be a bit of a problem, since it is gooey. Pulling spurge out of the ground guarantees sticky fingers.

All kinds of advice from extension services recommend 2,4-D as the best herbicide.

NIMBY!

In addition, the seeds are teeny tiny – maybe only a millimeter in length. That’s what I read, anyway. I haven’t actually seen any seeds. Apparently, though, I am spreading them around every time I pull a plant out of the ground. That scary thought is doubtful, in my opinion. Like the one that some weed guru said about their roots going down two feet. Bushwah!

The plants spread quickly by vegetative means. Yesterday I pulled a bunch of them out of the lawn. Today they are back. Damn!

Two Strategies for Spurge

As far as I know, nothing has adapted to flames. A flamethrower did come to mind for how to get rid of the spurge in the lawn.

I am not the first person to think of this strategy. James Gielow’s post here: Fighting Fire with Fire: An Organic Holocaust of Weed Control describes his success-by-flames against spurge.

This approach strikes me as a lot like modern cancer treatment – i.e., burn the crap out of it (like radiation therapy) in hopes that the ‘organism’ (lawn) will still survive. Same goes for “chemotherapy” – herbicides.

For now, I will stick with “surgery” – getting down on all fours, sweeping through the grass and pulling out every spurge I can find. (Yep, they hide in the grass, too.)

Depending on how much longer it lasts this season – and how much it spreads – I may eventually adopt the strategy that another weed guru suggested. He said to chill out, let it grow, and enjoy it as a free ground cover.

Ah, the lazyman’s way out. Now that appeals to me.

Filed Under: Basic Biology

Comments

  1. James Gielow says

    September 15, 2017 at 11:55 am

    Haha, you’ll come around to my holocaust method eventually! The true magic isn’t from killing the weed with fire, but destroying the seed! Spurge begins dropping seeds almost immediately. In areas where I can’t use the torch, I treat it like a hazmat situation. Even vacuuming the seeds out if need be. I’ve almost eradicated it from the property! Almost.

    Reply
    • The Golf Nut says

      September 15, 2017 at 1:26 pm

      Almost eradicated? You are my idol, James. Glad I found your post and shared it with all (both?) of my readers. Keep up the good work!

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recent Posts

  • Here’s Jack! Going, going, (nearly) gone
  • Tires Don’t Just Blow Out Anymore – They Disintegrate
  • The Meaning of Life, the Universe, and Everything?
  • Naming My New ‘COVID-Do’
  • Ignorance by the Moron in Chief – A New Low?
  • Mad Scientist Invents New Sausage?
  • Our Beloved Little Elsa, 2013-2018
  • My Anti-Intervention Birthday
  • Turning 70 – Awesome!
  • Got a Fun Christmas Gift – My Very Own Big Boss Oil-Less Fryer
  • Thoughts on Veterans Day 2017
  • Spurge – Most Annoying Summertime Weed
  • What is Scarier Than a Stephen King Novel?
  • New Neighborhood Weed for Depressed Mice
  • Hey, Fellow Old Golfers: How to Hit a 300-Yard Drive
  • Adventures in DIY Furniture Assembly
  • GASP! Pill Bugs Are Not Really BUGS!
  • For Golfers Who Don’t Yet Have Everything
  • Issues That Politicians Are Afraid To Talk About
  • Battling with Russian Hackers

Recent Comments

  • The Golf Nut on Cheap Imports Getting Really Annoying
  • Brian on Cheap Imports Getting Really Annoying
  • The Golf Nut on Our Beloved Little Elsa, 2013-2018
  • Kim S Carlson on Our Beloved Little Elsa, 2013-2018
  • The Golf Nut on Our Beloved Little Elsa, 2013-2018
  • Belinda on Our Beloved Little Elsa, 2013-2018
  • The Golf Nut on My Anti-Intervention Birthday
  • Brent on My Anti-Intervention Birthday
  • The Golf Nut on Turning 70 – Awesome!
  • Keithmayberry on Turning 70 – Awesome!
  • The Golf Nut on Spurge – Most Annoying Summertime Weed
  • James Gielow on Spurge – Most Annoying Summertime Weed
  • The Golf Nut on Battling with Russian Hackers
  • Gary Law on Battling with Russian Hackers
  • Dennis on Cheap Imports Getting Really Annoying

Copyright © 2023 · Lifestyle Pro Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in