Gout Weed...You are a Disease

Gout Weed a.k.a Snow on the Mountain a.k.a. My Worst Gardening Nightmare
Ever heard of it?
Ever experienced it?
If you have it, I pity you. Truly, I do. This terrible gardening disease has given me nightmares all summer. It overtook my flowerbeds, crept into our lawn, and has caused me more grief than any other weed known to mankind. And I hear it's nearly impossible to get rid of. great.

Oh terrible gout weed, I tried pouring boiling water on you and smiled with delight when your leaves wilted in front of my very eyes. But how my heart fell when I saw your green leaves sprout up again out of the ashes. Then, I tried spraying you with potent chemical, but you just laughed in my face as my beautiful lawn died instead. BUT I WILL NOT GO DOWN WITHOUT A FIGHT. I WILL GET RID OF YOU! I WILL, I TELL YOU! I WILL!

Umm...nevermind. I got carried away.

Really, though, has anyone else had experience with this stuff? I have fought it all summer long, and I think I'm finally starting to win the fight. I really wish I would have taken a picture of my flowerbeds before I started getting it under control. It was unbelievable. Really, it was.

The most success I have had with getting rid of it is the following:

1) Pour boiling water on the leaves. (Learn from my mistake - make sure you don't splash your toes in the process. LOL)

2) Let the leaves wilt (I leave them for about a week or until I have time to tackle the next step)

3)Pull the leaves out and throw them away. (FAR AWAY..or better yet...BURN THEM!)

4) Give yourself a pep talk before you start the next step (I WILL WIN!)

5) Get out your spade and start digging up your flower beds, section by section.


6) Sift though the dirt before moving onto the next section, and throw out as many of the roots as possible. The root system for this thing is incredible. This is a very tedious job, but I think this will be my best chance of getting rid of it for good.

7) Dig deeper. And when you think you're done, dig some more, and find some more of those rotten roots to throw out.


8) Ask your husband for a back massage and then fall into bed exhausted.

9) Repeat as necessary. :-)