It said China on the package, but…
18 Likes
3 Likes
Hmm:
“Long ago in the Russian hills
A Victorian explorer found the regal Hogweed by a marsh
He captured it and brought it home
Botanical creature stirs, seeking revenge
Royal beast did not forget
He came home to London
And made a present of the Hogweed
To the Royal Gardens at Kew”
They knew, even back then…
8 Likes
If it was a brushing scheme, surely seeds were sent to other countries? Did THEY eat them?!? Or is it the case that only US verified reviews have any value?
But…we ATE them?!?
7 Likes
That’s the one which can regrow itself from a .7mm piece of root?
7 Likes
I am a seed saver and would happily mail off mystery seeds.
3 Likes
The vice article mentioned mint right after stating that the seeds were not dangerous. Apparently this is not an individual that has ever tried to get rid of mint.
15 Likes
The one thing I used to love about having a mint infestation in my backyard was how nice the lawnmower smelled after running it over.
11 Likes
We have a bad case of Creeping Charlie in the back lawn. It probably started as ornamental decoration with some plant that was transferred to the garden.
6 Likes
5 Likes
There are even worse things:
Every single piece of these buggers is capable of regrowth, and they’re fragile enough that if you try to pull one out of the ground it’ll usually break into hundreds of pieces.
They’re almost impossible to eradicate; when weeding, you have to treat them as if they were unexploded bombs.
10 Likes
Beyond the seeds themselves, there’s also bacteria, fungi or viruses that may be along for the ride. Fusarium fungi is famously fucking up farming of many folks favorite fruit. 
7 Likes
I just smoked the ones they sent me.
8 Likes
Yes! I love edible perennials, but anything that’s guaranteed to come back every year has a habit of spreading. I’ve just had to accept the flowers in the beds that the house came with because they’re impervious to weeding. Kind of makes me wish for the blow torch method I learned in my community garden years ago.
2 Likes
Europe has been drinking Frankenwine since the 1860s.
North American forests have had huge holes punched in the ecosystem.
The people sweating over stuff like this, are on the same wavelength as the ones worrying about global pandemics.
9 Likes
I had an uncle with mint in his backyard. He poured everything from clorox to gasoline on it to try to kill it. Eventually he poured concrete over the beds. The mint still came through the cracks. The place probably qualifies as a superfund site now.
5 Likes
Probably a lot of intellectually curios people would actually. Anyone really into plants, botanists, etc.
2 Likes
I believe it is part of a scam that works by giving an on-line seller a delivery notice. I made the mistake of ordering a kayak from a website that had a low low price. I got a notice that my item was delivered and that PayPal was going to release the money to the seller. Only problem was I never received the kayak but also noticed that the item had been sent before I even ordered it. PayPal made my account good but may have sent money to the seller and had to try and get it back. Cost of sending seeds a few dollars but may have gotten $159 for their trouble. Multiply by thousands of possible cases…
2 Likes
I had some unknown vines growing in the back yard mostly up into a tree (although I am familiar with what kudzu looks like at a distance when it covers everything.) A few wacks with the axe and I took it off at ground level and didn’t think much about it. About two weeks later I noticed a new vine growing down the fence originating from the spot I cut the old vine apart at. Another week passes and it’s grown like 10 feet. Another week and it’s like 25 feet long now. At this point point I recognize the leaves and am like, well just fuck this shit.
After 3 spraying with a combination of glyphosate, triclopyr, and 2,4-D plus some more mechanical removal I killed it.
Where I live now has an empty mostly overgrown lot that neighbors me. I noticed a few years ago an attractive purple flower at the far side of the lot during the spring. Now the whole lot is covered.
It’s not as bad as Kudzu, but it ranks right up there with English Ivy in terms of viney plants I despise.
2 Likes
Another old foe from my bush regen days:
AKA “mile a minute”.
It’s well named.
5 Likes
