The Challenge Of Managing Invasive Japanese Knotweed In Connecticut

There are way more invasive species in Connecticut than the dreaded spotted lanternfly that everyone is suddenly finding in their backyards, I’ve found another foreign invader today in Torrington, you may have recently heard of this one too.

Last year one of the other residents of our condo complex in Torrington warned us that our complex was in trouble due to an invasive plant that she had noticed growing along the banks of the Naugatuck River behind our property. She had found Japanese Knotweed, and we listened to her warning. I can tell you one year later that she was right. Over the past year the patch has grown into a field, and it’s choking off everything in it’s path, with ivy-like growth across fences, trees, and structures. This is a close up that I took of the leaves.

Photo by Large Dave

According to the University of Connecticut, Japanese Knotweed can grow to be 6-15 feet tall, with deep roots that choke off neighboring species. I can tell you that it has incredibly rapid growth, and the City of Torrington has cut it down along the banks of the Naugatuck River in town twice this summer. What’s left in the wake of a fresh cut are bamboo-like stems and maybe two weeks of respite. Soon more and more come back, and it looks like this in three weeks –

Photo by Large Dave

The bad news is that Japanese Knotweed is a survivor, and incredibly tough to eradicate. Mechanical control can take three years, while chemical control can take two.

Japanese Knotweed is native to Eastern Asia, introduced in the US in the late 1800’s, and has been a problem here since the 1930’s. Nearly 100 years later it’s come to Torrington and the Naugatuck River Valley. Ready to prune with me?

Step Inside Goshen’s Thorncrest Farm & Milk House Chocolates

You may not know about the wonderful dairy products that are tucked away in the woods near the Litchfield/Goshen border, but you should. Before this past weekend I’ve never heard of Thorncrest Farm & Milk House Chocolates in Goshen, Connecticut, and now I will never forget it. Take a peek at what I found on Town Hill Road

Gallery Credit: Photos by Large Dave

Step Inside Torrington’s New Market Street Creatives

Gallery Credit: Photos by Large Dave

Three Cities in Connecticut Desperately in Need of Trader Joe’s

News broke over social media in the past 48 hours that a Trader Joe’s will soon be coming to Hamden. I think the company made a good choice, but there are two other cities around the state that are just as desperate for one of their stores.

Gallery Credit: Google