Wild onions.

I have wild onions growing in a part of my lawn and the area seems to get bigger every year. When I start cutting grass in the spring I literally shed tears. I have to be careful if I try to spray them because I might kill the grass. I dont think spraying would work anyways because of the waxy surface of the plants. It would just bead up and roll off. Pulling them up would be impossible. They seem to die off during the summer but they are a nuisance in early spring. I have to mow the yard more times than necessary just to get rid of the onions. Anybody else have this problem?

Try some "weed and feed" Or a sponge brush and jar of Round-Up. Lauren suggest a office "stamp wetter with RU inside for spot use.
Let me know if any works. I believe in the South we call them "rants".
Sidney

Sidney, do you mean "Ramps", otherwise known as Wild Leek (Allium tricoccum)? These have broad leaves, and a large bulb which highly prized by wild food gatherers. A county in W. VA has a yearly Ramp festival.

Equilibrium, you might try some broad leaf herbicide with a little dish soap added as a "sticker".

RBB

Probably, although I like my interpitation betterLOL
;)

Hey escambiaguy, I don't have your problem but I'd like to. Just teasing with you. Wild Leek can be absolutely obnoxious down south I am told.

Hey RBB, I've used Dawn dishwashing detergent before. I've also used Lemon something or other (too lazy to get up and walk in the kitchen right now to see which detergent that was) that I bought specifically to do as you suggested. What am I supposed to use it on though? I like my Allium tricoccum and purchased some more seed to germinate for this coming season. I am also trying to get my hands on some A. burdickii seed but so far no luck.

These don't have broad leaves. They are more stringy looking, almost like grass. I will try to get some pictures and post them.

Look here, escambiaguy. Might help.
http://www.ppdl.purdue.edu/ppdl/weeklypics/3-10-03.html
Go here to see what ramps look like.
http://www.babbonyc.com/in-ramps.html

This message was edited Mar 3, 2006 6:59 AM

escambi, those are definately just wild onions like I have in DM's yard in Charlotte.
I don't guess I've ever had ramps anywhere. The ones we have gan be mowed and only the first mow or two of the year will make you cry.
Sidney

I looks like the picture of the wild onions, not the ramps. And they are right about the poor drainage part, my area that has the onions is in a low part of my yard.

Another pest elsewhere and a blessing here. Lightly scattered throughout the meadow with a short life to only be replaced occasionally here. I like them so do my bees, birds, and grasshoppers.

The wild onion grows here too. It doesn't seem to be too big a problem though. The small clumps that do pop up from time to time are fairly easily dug up. I throw dirt and all in the trash for pickup. The bulbs seem to be best removed if pried up from below. This leaves a divot but it is the only way to really rid of them. I dug nutsedge this way for over five years in the front lawn before it dissapeared. I "inspect" now every year for both. The appearance of a single leaf of either brings on a full assualt! I have neighbors who cant identify a single weed, even poison ivy, so I keep getting this sutff back over and over. Poison ivy comes up everywhere. I think the birds must spread the seeds. My neighbor has been known to cut it and burn it!

If it wasn't in my front yard where everyone could see it, it wouldn't bother me either. It just looks weedy and unkept. Oh well, I may just have to live with it.

I have been carefully deeply digging out any and all of the wild onions I can in our yard and flower beds but they are all over in the pastures and most crop fields. If harvested wheat has too many in it the elevators will dock the farmer on his price. Local farmers use all kinds of herbicides on these wild onions to no avail. You have to sift thru the soil to make sure you get every single tiny bulblet or you will have them right back. On the other hand, our son loves to eat them raw.

I have wild garlic! Squiggly slender leaves. I haven't found a way to get rid of it either because it's everywhere and there's too much to ''paint.''
Sugarweed, I kind of like Rants too. Is that as in rant and rave? Laugh.

I have been told that salting the area and then covering it with a tarp for a week or two will kill anything, including wild onions. I've just started that process, so I don't have any results to report.

But I have a great idea to share -- if anyone has tried this and succeeded, please let me know. Since I try to garden organically, it is only with great reluctance that I plan to resort to Round-Up. But to minimize the damage, I plan to inject it straight into the root. That should react faster, and not spread the poison into my garden. Any thoughts?

I use Roundup concentrate and put it in a little Beano bottle, do not dilute the concentrate. If I have anything that is hard to kill I cut the plant and put a drop of the RU on the cut, it works on everything. It would be impossibly tedious to use this method in a yard but it works for the wild onions that pop up in my flower beds. I have used this to kill even the dreaded Smilac and other hard to kill plants.

I have used round up on my wild onions, and it didn't do anything.
They appear to die, but next year they are back. I guess it just kills the foliage, and the bulb comes back next spring.
The only thing I have found is to dig them. And then probably dig again because it is nearly impossible to get out all of those tiny bulbs.

Oh man I would love to have some wild onions and garlic, but I live where they wouldn't be invasive I would have to grow them in pots as we are to dry for it to grow wild. I would trade you my invasive golden rod plants but they are considered a noxious weed in NM. Susan

Oh Susan! If only I could ship you some wild oinons! I have them gone from the front yard but I found a clump in the backyad (again) just about a week ago. They are extremely persistant. If you leave the tiniest corm in the soil - They're baaaaaack! You can keep the golden rod, thank you! The stuff is all over the place out here.

We fight it all the time and because we live next to a bird refuge and they dont it comes back even when we get it sprayed and killed. I have mine down to a mild bunch just have a lot of land to keep it off of. If you find any more wild onions let me know and I'll pay postage just to try and get some to grow down here. I have such harsh conditions any thing thats green and spreads is a good thing, except golden rod. lol Thanks Susan