Lorinda Crawford

Here in southern Ontario, Canada, dog-strangling vine is a very challenging invasive plant that crowds out native plants. Apparently it was brought by eastern European settlers over 100 years ago as an ornamental plant. Its power of reproduction is impressive - the root crown is below the surface (so doesn't come out when pulled) and the roots can get as prolific as a head of hair! Then each stalk has numerous seed pods filled with MANY seeds. I've discovered that the seed pods will dry and open even after being picked from the plant. It also has different appearances (maybe there are different types of it). It happens to be part of the milkweed family & likely is one of the causes of the Monarch butterflies' demise ... they mistake it for milkweed, lay their eggs on the leaves, then the larvae starve because it's not the milkweed they actually eat.

In my experience, the best method of control is persistent mechanical removal before the seed pods develop, digging deep to get as much of the root system as possible.

I would like to learn if there are any constructive uses for this plant! Is it edible or medicinal? The one positive use I see is that it can help prevent erosion.

https://www.invasivespeciescentre.ca/invasive-species/meet-the-species/invasive-plants/dog-strangling-vine/#:~:text=Height%3A%20Dog%2Dstrangling%20vine%20has,forming%20dense%20mats%20of%20vegetation
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Edward Norton wrote:Jay’s method works a treat. I emptied our recycling wheelie bin and used it with a fork.

Does anyone have experience using this technique with soil? - filling the large recycling bin and wheeling it... or is soil too heavy?

Jan White wrote:

Jordan Holland wrote:Imagine that that person has had nothing but bad experiences. Nothing but failure. Imagine that that person has decided to give the world one more chance to show that life is worth living before they choose to end it. And that chance is you. Please be kind.

Sorry if I'm beating a dead horse here, but I had the same reaction as Robin and DC, and I don't think it was an unfair one. To me, what you, Jordan, are saying here is that this hypothetical person can't take another bad experience or failure, but I don't think you made it clear that saying no to someone politely doesn't count as failure. What came across was that the rejection itself, not the manner of the rejection, is what could possibly push this person over the edge. If you'd said "please be kind in the way you say no to them," I think your intended meaning would have been clear. As it was, what I got was " imagine if this person gets one more rejection they're going to end it, so please be kind and don't reject them."

I just thought wording it differently might help you understand why we all got the meaning we did from it.

(Not sure if I'm replying properly, first time replying to anything on permies.com :-). Thank you, Jan. What you expressed is how I also read/interpreted the original. I hope your post allows the "dead horse" to Rest In Peace. :-) It's not easy to iron out misunderstandings by typing/screen ... so much easier in person! Great to see the quest for clarification by the ones who were participating in the back-and-forth (Jordan, Robin, DC ... and maybe some others?).

(My first post on permies.com) This topic strikes me ... I found & registered with permies.com specifically because I was seeking to find a partner with a deep interest in permaculture located in my region (Toronto, Ontario, Canada). Only now with my middle age in full flight am I actually interested in finding someone! Some of us are late bloomers.

I can only answer what's wrong with me and dating (based on in-person interactions or text-based with contacts already in my network... I have not truly opened the door of online dating): First, I've never related well to the word "dating". I never wanted to date - I wanted to find the one right for me and go forth from there. Didn't happen! I got really busy with my interests and work. I'm shy & awkward & take a long time to feel at ease. I "don't have time" for it. I don't have too much experience with it (I think because of walls I put up, based on messaging I internalized, traumas unrelated to dating, and lack of trust that it was possible to find a healthy partnership based on bad familial examples). Also, I resent the focus on "sex too soon" (for me ... based on how I know my heart/mind responds to this. Or maybe it's been how my heart/mind responds to this aspect of relationships with the person who is wrong for me! I resent that this preference of mine is judged as old-fashioned and quickly gets me written off.)

Anyhoo ... When I have more bandwidth to sincerely seek a partner, I will keep in mind what I have appreciated in the posts from some of you who have focused on knowing oneself, knowing one's values & having a clear picture of what one seeks. Also, the exhortation to get out into one's community to meet people. You are pointing the way for those of us who seek something "right" in the dating quest!