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GARLIC MUSTARD - This is the time to get rid of it in your yards!

It’s highly invasive, but very easy to eradicate now
Posted on: May 6, 2022 - 8:52am
garlic mustard

The highly invasive Garlic Mustard plant is trying to get a foothold in Lynnfield, and this is the time to take it out! It’s particularly bad because it releases a substance into the ground that kills other species by preventing them from germinating.

Garlic Mustard spreads on trails, roadsides, and other areas where trees have been removed or the ground has been disturbed. By the time native species are ready to grow, garlic mustard has invaded.

Right now, it’s easy to identify because it opens its leaves and flowers before almost all other species in the region’s woods.

The plant has a 2-year life cycle producing highly recognizable little 4-petal white flowers in the second year. The goal is to prevent it from producing seed and continuing to spread. Amazingly, a single plant can produce up to 7,000 tiny seeds.

HERE IS THE BEST WAY TO GET RID OF GARLIC MUSTARD:

  • Pull the plant straight up to release the tap root. It’s easy to pull by hand, and even easier after it rains and the ground is softer.
  • Pull in April through early June when it is in flower (but seeds are not yet set)
  • Bag the plants and throw away in the garbage – DO NOT COMPOST!

 

If you have any questions at all, call Planning & Conservation at (781) 334-9495. Thank you!