Keeping on top...

13 years ago

Hi there permaculture enthusiasts,

I have a ton of creeping charlie and wild strawberry in my yard. & Actually, I quite like the blooming creeping charlie in the springtime. And I like both better than grass. :-) So, I've given up taking out the charlie/strawberry everywhere but in my veggie garden. My question is: is the creeping charlie/wild strawberry detrimental to soil health? If so, is there any other creeping ground cover plants that will effectively out compete these and keep my soil healthy? I am most concerned about my recently planted peach tree guilds, and I'm worried that the charlie/strawberry might take over my ground cover and herb layers. I think the roots of these plants are not vey deep. But I'm not sure what their effect will be in the long term now that I've quit ripping them out. Right now I have clover and June bearing strawberries as ground cover in 1 of the guilds, and strawberries and sweet alyssum in the other.

THANKS in advance for any thoughts.

tracy

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Comments (5)

zzackey
13 years ago
The only thing I know about creeping charlie is it grows like crazy and it will take over!
Tiffany, purpleinopp Z8b Opp, AL
13 years ago
I have no advice to give, but wanted to agree with you about CC being a much more attractive lawn than plain grass, perfectly soft enough, and just as easy to mow. I LOVE purple yards in the spring!
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pretty.gurl
13 years ago
Strawberries do have very shallow roots.
kineala
Original Author
13 years ago
Just wanted to report back on the creeping charlie "problem". & Actually, I've decided that there's no problem... The creeping charlie has merged in with the clover and June bearing strawberries in the peach tree guild, and all seems to be very (deliriously) happy. The chicory, raspberries and tomato plants have deeper roots and don't seem to be affected much by it. & I think the bees like the purple blossoms on the C/C better than practically everything else in my yard (w/ the possible exception of it's cousin, the nepeta). The creeping charlie and false strawberry seem to be good living mulch plants. (& They haven't yet taken over everything...).

I agree that the creeping charlie is much more attractive than boring grass. N I love the way it smells when it's mowed on a hot summer day. :-) My lawn is a mass of grass, clover, dandelions, creeping charlie, false strawberry and wild violets... Right now, the lawn is peppered in red and yellow - false strawberries and their blooms....and I love it! :-)

I think my suburban mono-grass neighbors hate me, tho. :-/
Tiffany, purpleinopp Z8b Opp, AL
13 years ago
That sounds beautiful! Our lawn has at least 40 different plants in it, I have no idea what most of them are but I see cute tiny flowers at various times in the year. There are patches of beautiful blue Tradescantia we mow around until later in the season, then mow it with the rest of the lawn. It's much more enjoyable to me than the monoculture lawns I always knew in OH. I've tried transplanting some clover from DH's Mom's lawn that has a beautiful red heart on each soft leaf, but no luck so far. Should have tried before it got so hot & dry. Anything not prickly is welcome to grow where we mow.