Whoa, the first post!

Since this is the first post, I need to preface everything else by saying that the writings in this blog are based on my experience working in parts of the Great Basin and Northern Rocky Mountains. While much of what I have to say has wider application, you should take this into consideration if you live elsewhere. So, here it is, the first day of spring and our thoughts turn to.....weeds of course. This time of the year plants are springing to life as soon as the weather lets them. It's one of the wonderful things about Spring! Here in northern Idaho wherever the snow has come off, the plants are starting to come awake and that includes invasive weeds. One of the important skills that weed warriors need to work on is identification of weeds in their early growth stages. While all weed books show the weeds in full bloom, only the ones that also show seedlings are useful this time of year. I recommend the widely available "Idaho's Noxious Weeds" (U of I Extension) as a good source for seedling pics. Early identification can mean less work if you are 'lucky' enough to have 'only' annual or biennial weeds and want to do mechanical control. It also gives you more time to figure out what to do if you are unlucky enough to have perennial weeds. If you plan to use herbicides, the small plants are more fragile and this allows you to use lower application rates, which is a good thing. The pic is a young oxeye daisy seedling taken in the spring. Note the characteristic serrated leaves.