Voluntary Pulling of Garlic Mustard

Spring sprung very quickly, and the garlic mustard has been LOVING IT



and - although I have been pulling garlic mustard for the past month - it sometimes feels like I'm playing a game to stalemate...

Last week, I got an e-mail from a long-time walker:

We have noted garlic mustard in the past in the Saginaw. ... We were wondering if we could get permission to pull some garlic mustard. We know to bag it and that the seed pods can continue to develop after the flowers are picked.

Yesterday, I received an update:

I have done some but we have had difficulty finding time to do a concerted effort. Today we pulled for 2+ hours and filled 2 large bags; we left on in the fire pit but carried the other one out expecting to find more which we did.

As of now, the path from the Parkland Plaza entrance that passes the two lakes and then the cabin to the boardwalk are relatively clear. We found 2 areas more infiltrated off the trail towards the cabin after the tree root steps up and more in one section near the frog pond. Unfortunately, we did not get there early after blooming so hopefully got some seeds; it was harder to get roots since the ground is dry. We did not go on the upper trail but will, possibly Wednesday. Otherwise, the biggest patch we saw was by the cabin although we did not take side trails.

We saw lots of rosettes that will emerge next spring so hopefully the effort can start sooner.

Indeed, there was a trash bag filled with garlic mustard in the fire pit. I took it to the trash can at the front gate, and it will go out tomorrow for trash day.

A big and hearty, "THANK YOU!" to this visitor-steward and to everyone else who has been pulling out garlic mustard whenever they've seen some. I know that pulling it up will help ensure that future years won't have large accumulations, and that - compared to last year - there are areas that are now completely garlic-mustard free.