PC answer to johnson grass

The place we bought has a few spots where Johnson grass has just taken over.  If roundup is not an option, what can you do to get rid of this stuff?

Roundup is not an option.   

When you are ready to rub it all over your skin and drink a glass of the stuff, then we can talk about it being an option.

Nearly every time anybody uses it, it causes more problems than ...

Hell, here is the bottom line:  this site is way, way, way beyond the roundup discussion.  If you are even considering it, you are at the wrong site and I have to beat you up or something.

So ... on with Johnson grass.  I've never even heard of it.  But wikipedia has and .... WOW!  Some of it has become resistant to roundup!  Ha ha ha ha ha!  Pbpbpbbpbttttt!!!

Do you have animals that might graze on this stuff?

Hmmm ..... allelopathic  .... that's bad ....

winter hardy ....

It sounds like it is not a fan of being mowed ....

Do you have pictures?

Paul, I greatly appreciate this site and all the help y'all have given, but remember, I am new to the whole permaculture/tree-huggin' community, so the "cold turkey," no chemical approach is asking a bit much - but I'll try.  I'll try any organic suggestions y'all offer, starting with hand pulling and mowing the stuff.

I'll try to get some pictures to post.  As for the whole "have to beat me up thing," I have trained in martial arts and boxing for the past 27 years.  I have two black belts, a brown belt, and a very protective, mean, little red-headed wife.  Maybe you'd do better just to spray me with roundup or something .

If you use any chemicals at all, or even consider the use of any chemicals, I will refuse to help you any further. 

All chem solutions lead to problems. 

The organic or not discussion is so far behind me, the idea of talking to anybody about it ever again just bores me to bits. 

Any problem you have with any form of horticulture has an organic solution.  The only think keeping you from it is knowledge. 

could you try smothering it with with hay? I like to smother things its my favorite solution. ya'll better watch out! I dont' think you have critters yet?? a good way to take out a stand of unwanted grassy vegetation is to but a roundbale of hay on it. as the animals tear of chunks alot gets wasted...er not really....it gets packed and stomped into the ground around the bale smothering all plant life underneath over time and eventually creating some nice rich soil underneath.

that stuff can be a pain in the rear. mow it down where you can and that will slow it down. if you find it in the garden ....get out your shovel........a bit of time digging all the roots up will be worth your effort in the end. depending on your soil, smaller clumps pull up fairly easily after a good soaking rain. their roots are so dense that they hold together well. so welll that you have to be careful that it doesn't take half the garden with it when you yank it up!

I'm curious as to what happened with the Johnson grass situation? I let it go before knowing what it was, and now it's taking over everything! I have covered it in a really thick layer in pine needles and it's coming up through that. In the garden i'm digging up every little blade I can find, then digging around it more to try and get as many roots as possible. I'm afraid this will be slow going.

I think it has to be treated the same way as quack grass.  The only luck I have had is putting down a big piece of black rubber until it's dead, usually about a year.  After you remove the rubber (plastic, whatever), put in a crop of something.  Leave a barrier of the rubber/plastic all the way around the area you cleared for 5 or 6 ft to keep it from coming back in from the sides.  I am trying an experiment with making my borders around areas with comfrey on some edges and hostas on others to see if that will stop the encroachment, but it's too soon to tell if that is going to work.

Oh man, I covered it with cardboard, plywood, and an old oilcloth tarp last fall. The roots keep traveling and coming up farther away! But at least it's not coming up through the covered areas. Except the pine needle mulched area, it doesn't seem to mind that. I've been spraying those blades with vinegar and dish soap. I guess there's some experiments going here

Animals are the answer -- Johnson grass is a great forage.   Wait until it is about to the flowering stage, and right after a heavy rain get out there and yank it up by the roots.  If you are at all worried about the nitrogen level (and with it the cyanides), chop it up and ensile it for a few days.  Lactobacillus fermentation will make short work of the cyanides.