Dreaded Poison Ivy

[Jackie Hogan]

Hey all. So, any suggestions on a garden that is ready to plant............however, after I tilled it and raked out all the grass/weeds I realized the roots around the tiller weren't tree roots they were poison Ivy. so of course my feet and and ankles and hands have poison Ivy cause I was bare foot in the freshly tilled dirt. I know now that the oil has to be all over my garden and that any bare skin exposed to it will break out. I'm dissappointed. This will be my first real garden and I guess I will have to wear a haz mat suit when I go out there. Any other suggestions on what to do? I really want this garden. Maybe I should do that raised bed thing with fresh/clean dirt. I be that's expensive huh? My garden is probably 8 feet wide and 30 feet long. Thanks for any advice

Jackie

[amygwh]

Hi Jackie! I responded to the "garden beds over pachysandra and poison ivy" thread a week or so ago with some ideas that might be helpful, but ---if it were my garden...--- in addition to trying to get out those roots, then putting cardboard and/or newspapers over that to try to smother any roots that might have survived the purge, and then making a "lasagna garden" over the top of that, I would think about trying to locate and get rid of the source of all those roots. In my yard, when there's a mess of roots, it's because there's a big mother-plant some place nearby sending them out.

When I first moved to this yard, more than 18 years ago, there were several very large (3 1/2 to 4 inch diameter) poison ivy vines climbing my trees. After a couple of years of just spraying "round-up" at all the poison ivy leaves I could see and reach, I tried a new tactic that worked much better.

(While wearing the layman's equivalent of a haz mat suit) I sawed a disc out of the "trunk" of the thick vines, immediately spraying the top of the lower trunk part with "round up" (glyphosate original formula). This worked, but it was in summer. Doing this procedure too early in Spring would probably not be as effective, because the sap is all running the wrong way---it is headed up into the tips of the vine to form new leaves. I think this would work best when the plants have leafed out and have a good flow of energy/nutrients from the leaves back down to the roots. One other good aspect of this method, besides that it worked, is that it really limits where the herbicide goes.

Eventually, soil micro-organisms will break down the poison-ivy oil that is in your dirt, but I do not have any idea how long that will take (another reason I would make a "lasagna garden" on this spot for the first year, if it were mine).

This is the second post I've responded to with a chemical suggestion for a solution, and I am starting to feel a bit like a shill for big agriculture, but for some problems a chemical solution seems called-for. I haven't found any other solution to the poison-ivy problem, and I use chemicals for fire ants, yellow jackets, and termites, also. Sorry to not have a gentler solution to propose. Maybe someone else will see this and offer us both a better idea!

Until then, I would probably get back into my haz mat suit ;-) and keep working on that garden, but I am a pretty stubborm moderately-old lady. I really do hope that your garden works out without being too expensive. The book on "lasagna gardening" should be in your public library, so that, at least, would be free. Hopefully, other gardeners will chime in soon with more possiblities.

Good luck, and I do hope that your rash heals soon. If it is anything like when I get that rash, it is very itchy!

-Amygwh

[Jackie Hogan]

Thank you so much for your advice. I will have to decided what I want to do. I have had half a mind just to plant stuff anyway. but the rash is getting worse and worse. my husband now has it. I think the dogs are bringing it in from outside. I found a whole new batch of it the other day in the corner where our fire pit is. Man that stuff is persistant. I HATE IT!! Anyway, I'll be working on a lasagna garden and trying to be as inexpensive as possible. So, thanks again. I appreciate it.

[Cindy Henson]

Hi Jackie- I used Round Up fo brush with good results on poison ivy. Poison ivey and wasps are the only thing for which I use a chemical solution, so far.

I wanted to share with you something my doctor shared with me a couple of years ago. I had poison ivey so badly that it was in my mouth and throat. He suggested that in January I try a homeopathic remedy called Rhus Tox. You get it at a compounding pharmacy. You put it under you tongue once a week for 3 weeks and it helps you become more resistant to poison ivey (also known as "the scourge" in our house.) It worked really well for me. Now if I get it at all it is just a tiny rash, not big purple blisters that leave scars. Hope this helps!

Coincidentally the power company in Oklahoma gave it to all their line men and reduced their workman's comp for poison ivy something like 90%.

[Josh]

I've found that using Tordon RTU is a good chemical to use after you cut a section out of the ivy. It comes in a quart squeeze bottle and you just put enough on the plant to cover the fresh cut area. I've used it even in winter and it did well, which is nice if you want to try and stay away from all the fresh oils while it's growing! Wish you good luck!