Re: another valuable use for milkweed

I'm sure there are lots of other varieties of milkweed which have similar uses.

"One final note on the photos above: You will notice an unusual plant in between the carrots in the middle photo. This plant, Euphorbia Lathyrus L. - a.k.a. 'Gopher Purge', which is in the milkweed family, exudes a sap that is distasteful to voles. We have occasional challenges with voles eating our crops. It seems they have a sweet tooth preferential to carrots, sweet potatoes, and strawberries. Including this milkweed plant in our garden has significantly reduced crop loss due to voles. Interestingly, we still have voles in our yard, however, they now generally stay out of the garden. The Gopher Purge reseeds itself, so rather than replant, we simply allow it to go to seed, then while weeding, leave enough of these plants in strategic locations to keep the voles out of the garden. This method of 'vole prevention' sure beats trapping and poisoning."

http://www.greenhousebed.com/Permaculture/permaculture_examples.htm
Tweet