Hi,

Apart from hosting drunken guests who launch bottle rockets onto my roof on the Fourth of July, and a few unwise landscaping choices, my neigbor is a pretty unobjectionable guy. However, for years now I've been watching with growing trepidation the way in which his newly planted beds are overtaken by thistles that grow into a literal forest. I'm not the interfering sort, but apart from my own fears of his thistles invading my property, I've also always been troubled by the fact that he sinks so much money and effort into creating a nicely landscaped yard. So last year I tried as gently as I could to offer my advice about the thistles, suggesting (without the edginess I'm revealing here) that the cut-rate college kids he hires to do his bed preparation and periodic weeding are really ignorant about gardening and that their method of vigorously yanking out the thistles is exactly the wrong way to eradicate them, because each one thus pulled out will stimulate the growth of at least four more. His response, devoid of irony: "So I should use weed and feed?" I haven't mentioned that I'm an organic gardener. To each his own, live and let live, different strokes...BUT NOW the invevitable has happened. His thistles have crept under the fence dividing our yards and are making a rapid advance into the rich, deeply-tilled, earthworm heaven of a lettuce and mesclun patch I have in my vegetable garden. Unless I do something, they'll take over the rest of the vegetable garden and move onto the perennials, too.

I would use systemic poisons only as a last resort, but fear that it's come to that. Death to my earthworms and no spring salads this year? I would be grateful for any advice that any of you can offer. Are there thistle-killing products that would be minimally invasive to the rest of my garden and soil. Are there any "organic" alternatives (I don't think so)?

I expect the college kids will be back as soon as the growing season starts, and I'd like to get the jump on the situation by spraying them with Round-Up before they can do any more damage (just kidding!).

Thnaks,

cranebill