My yearly battle against the most intrusive, invasive and prolific plant in my area begins. Garlic mustard is absolutely insidious. It is just starting to emerge right now and it’s pretty easy to spot them. These plants are nearly indestructible. But here’s the good news, you can eat the dang things! 😂
First off, make sure you identify it properly. The leaves a very distinctive and you cannot miss the smell when you break them open. It’s a strong garlicky smell. I recommend collecting the young leaves from an area away from the road and without any contamination. Wash them well and tear or chop into small pieces. In the past, I’ve used them to flavor mashed potatoes, stews, beans and stir fries. A few chopped leaves go a long way. I don’t bother preserving them in any way because there’s always more. 🫠 They stick around for the entire Spring and Summer.
To control the spread of this monstrosity pull as many as you can by the root and seal them in a plastic bag until they turn to sludge or let them full dry out on pavement before you dump them. If you can safely and legally burn them that’s another way to destroy them before they go to seed. Do not put them in a compost pile. The seeds will survive that. Keep in mind, if you allow these gremlins to flower and spew their little pods everywhere you will be dealing with four thousand new plants next year. That’s how many seeds one plant can have. They are biennials so the new sprouts will not flower the first year. They are easier to pull when they get taller so you can wait until then.
What is your invasive plant nemesis and how do you deal with it?