Volunteers to Weed Out Garlic Mustard in Dearborn

A small army of volunteers will take to the outdoor areas of Dearborn this Saturday to clear out the invasive species known as garlic mustard.

To combat the spread of this invasive species, the Stewardship Network is hosting the 2011 national Garlic Mustard Pull challenge. At the Dearborn site from 9 a.m. to noon, volunteers will pull the garlic mustard out of the ground by hand on the Henry Ford Estate and the Environmental Interpretive Center Area.

The Stewardship Network will be partnered with the UM-Dearborn Student Environment Association, the Michigan Botanical Club and the for this year's garlic mustard pull.

Martha Gruelle, who is the project director for the Huron to Erie Waterways for Wildlife, says this is the first year that Henry Ford and University of Michigan-Dearborn have combined efforts in removing the weeds.

There are many clusters of Stewardship groups across the state of Michigan. From April to July, all these groups will have their own mustard-pull event. The idea is that various branches of the Stewardship Network will make an impact on curbing garlic expansion.

After the event, each branch will count their weed-filled bags. Their direct goal is to collectively pull 150,000 pounds of weeds by July 8.

Garlic mustard was brought to Europe in the 1800s from Belgium, the Netherlands and the British Isles. It was commonly eaten by settlers in the spring and winter seasons because of the lack of crops. According to the Plant Conservation Alliance, the garlic mustard plant can be found in forests, hedgerows and forest edges from eastern Canada to as far south as Virginia, and as far west as Kansas and Nebraska.

According to the United States Department of Agriculture, there are currently eight states that list the garlic mustard plant as a noxious or banned weed. Currently, Michigan has a class C restriction on all mustard family plants. This means that it is prohibited to sell garlic mustard seeds in the state of Michigan. It is considered a contaminate, because of how rapidly the seeds spread and the plants grow.

Richard Simek, the program supervisor of the University of Michigan-Dearborn Environmental Interpretive Center, says that Europeans did not know garlic mustard plants were invasive when they first arrived.

He explained that garlic mustard plant will shade and crowd out woodland flowers. The plant also secretes an odor that will prevent tree saplings from growing. The rapid growth of garlic mustard not only affects other plant life, but also local wildlife and food webs as well.

According to the 2010 garlic mustard pull results, the Stewardship Network exceeded their goal and collected 243,216 pounds of garlic mustard.

“If you've never pulled garlic mustard, it's a nice way to get out in the woods while doing good,” Gruelle said. “It's also a lovely smell–if you like garlic.”