Posts: 613
Threads: 92
Joined: Jun 2005
So i posted in the general forum that i had some bug bites that instead were reactions from plant material that i was weeding in my wild garden....i remember pulling various ferns and a few vines (not sure what) but my allergic reaction was severe enough for me to go to my doctor and have him prescribe some steroids to calm the reactions.
Has anyone ever had intense reactions to local plants in your garden?
noel
Posts: 4,533
Threads: 241
Joined: Jan 2006
I think Jeffhale's wife did! You might email him and ask him about it.
Posts: 1,727
Threads: 29
Joined: Feb 2006
There are little fine hairs on guinea grass which make little red spots when the grass brushes on skin. Kinda itchy and I have no idea how cows manage to eat the stuff.
"I like yard sales," he said. "All true survivalists like yard sales."
Kurt Wilson
yes, to pulling grass ... maybe it's the guinea grass, don't know its name. Very broad blade.
I thought I had been bitten ... ow!
I would say more often than not I'll end up with red spots after weeding, on my forearms, usually apply Cortizone 10 to the bumpy hive like spots and they calm down. I never had these problems in California, so it's not like I react to all weeds.
Posts: 613
Threads: 92
Joined: Jun 2005
Its amazing when i'm gardening in norcalif...i don't use gloves and the stuff that i go through and the scares i get....compared to working in hawaii, now i find i can't be aggressive about unknown plant species - i guess it will be a learning process or maybe i have to adapt to things like mosquitos swarming around new meat....
meanwhile, the list of itchies are getting larger...
mangoes, grasses, philodendrum and various unknown vines.....oh my....
yep, gardening here is an adjustment ...
while I very much dislike using poisons and am not that big on power tools ... if you watch the "norm" of how people deal with landscaping here, you will see that the typical approach is to create a scene that can be dealt with by lawnmower, weedwhacker, hedge trimmer, putting down landscaping fabric or plastic with holes cut for individual plants, and "of course" herbicide.
That kind of gardening is neither fun nor ecologically kind but there's a reason the guys are out there with gloves, goggles, headphones and tools ... not getting hurt, bitten, rash-covered.
Hand-weeding is not the norm and with a year round weed season (no down time), it's a battle that won't be won if you have much land to take care of.
I came here from Northern California, never used herbicide, did all hand-pruning, dug planting holes with trowels and a shovel, and tending to my yard was a daily joy. Now it is pretty much a given that a yardwork session may result in bites, scratches, punctures, itching, rash ...
I begin to understand why the oldtimers in Hilo looked at our property, sighed, said "beautiful yard" and added "too much for me to take care of."
I've never been big on having expansive lawn (my California house had two TINY patches of lawn and the rest all beds and patio) ... but I get it here ... it's a good way to cover large areas of land, cheap, with islands of trees, crops, ornamentals that can be mowed around.
If you have the rainfall to support it ...
another way is to go with the wild natural look, letting it stay and cover the large areas. It's just very difficult to do traditional "bed" and "border" gardening because of the weeds. I see that style around Waimea -- because it's colder and the weeds are less brutal or because of the European influence? I'm not sure.
Are there any weed seeds that fall and don't germinate? Not in my yard!
