What do you do with poke weed?

[Scottman]

once you dig it up how do you get rid of it? let it fry in the sun? chop it up? I have some of these to deal with.

[nelson96]

Probably the same as I do with Tansy Ragwort. . . .  Unless I have a burn pile ready to torch, I put it in a feed sack so that the seeds can't spread and throw it on the burn pile for future burning.

[zanedclark@att.net]

When I was a kid we ate it.
z

[Joe in TN]

Compost it.

[Samuel Fairlane]

Chop and drop. I use as mulch.

[Scottman]

If you compost it with the root, will the root sprout?

[JLMissouri]

We eat it as well. Get it when it is young.

[inbox485]

you poke it... sorry couldn't resist.

[Joe in TN]

If you compost it with the root, will the root sprout?

No, if you build a large compost pile all at once it will be hot enough to kill everything.  If you are just piling up compostable material a little at a time you could have seeds, and/or roots, sprout.

What I do is wait until I have enough of my compostable material built up that the addition of all my poke (I get a lot sprouting up around the fence line) weed will create a big pile.  Then the pile gets hot enough to kill everything I have good compost in 4-6 months.  HTH,

Joe

[LibertyBelle]

once you dig it up how do you get rid of it?

Get rid of it??!!!! Why on earth would you want to get rid of it? 
Seriously, though.  While we always make sure to save enough for greens the next spring, what we don't plan on eating we just chop it down and either leave it lay or compost it.   

[Frugal Upstate]

I've totally been getting rid of mine because I'm on a 1/2 acre lot and it just SPREADS.  Plus, since the berries are poisonous, I don't want to be liable as property owner if someone elses kid decides to try eating some. 

I dug up a bunch last year, then I wore gloves and used clippers to cut off all the berry clusters and roots to black bag and put out on the curb, then composted the stalks and greenery.  It was a pretty big pile and by the time I got done I was actually having heart palpitations, I'm assuming from inhaling stuff that wound up airborne from my cutting etc.  That's one of it's herbal actions (and I *think* one of it's dangers--ie a trained herbalist can use a little bit to good effect for very specific situations, but too much and it can kill you)  So I'd read up on it before I burned a bit pile of the stuff and wound up with all of that in the air.  Maybe I'm wrong, but it's worth reading up to be safe.

[Samuel Fairlane]

I've totally been getting rid of mine because I'm on a 1/2 acre lot and it just SPREADS.  Plus, since the berries are poisonous, I don't want to be liable as property owner if someone elses kid decides to try eating some. 

I dug up a bunch last year, then I wore gloves and used clippers to cut off all the berry clusters and roots to black bag and put out on the curb, then composted the stalks and greenery.  It was a pretty big pile and by the time I got done I was actually having heart palpitations, I'm assuming from inhaling stuff that wound up airborne from my cutting etc.  That's one of it's herbal actions (and I *think* one of it's dangers--ie a trained herbalist can use a little bit to good effect for very specific situations, but too much and it can kill you)  So I'd read up on it before I burned a bit pile of the stuff and wound up with all of that in the air.  Maybe I'm wrong, but it's worth reading up to be safe.

I find it deeply sad that we live in world where people have to be worried about other people poisoning themselves with a native plant. I'm not saying you have a valid point. I hope I never have to worry about such foolishness. 

[inbox485]

I find it deeply sad that we live in world where people have to be worried about other people poisoning themselves with a native plant. I'm not saying you have a valid point. I hope I never have to worry about such foolishness. 

I got smoke inhalation down in Brazil and haven't been the same since. Here locally, many a firefighter has been effed up by too much sage brush smoke. Shtuff happens with odd plants.

[fzrspirit]

I usually just chop-n-drop but in the spring I eat the young leaves after a double boil. My grandfather (a child of the great depression) says they ate it often.

[LibertyBelle]

I've totally been getting rid of mine because I'm on a 1/2 acre lot and it just SPREADS.  Plus, since the berries are poisonous, I don't want to be liable as property owner if someone elses kid decides to try eating some. 

I hear what you're saying, especially in this day and age where it seems like most everyone is sue-happy. Even though I think the child would stop long before it became a problem.  First, the berries don't taste all that great by themselves, not like say grapes, blueberries, or blackberries.  And 2nd, according to studies done on the toxicity of poke berries, it would take approx 45 pounds of fresh berries to kill a 150 lb adult person.  I don't know about the rest of you, but even with a food I love, I couldn't sit down and eat 5 pounds of it, much less 45 pounds.

BTW, fresh ripe poke berries can help with arthritis pain and inflammation.  Dosage is 4 or 5 fresh ripe berries per day.  But swallow them whole, don't chew, as it's the seeds that are behind the berry's bad reputation.  Or better yet, make poke berry wine!