Power of Mustard

My Dad used to love eating mustard sandwiches, no meat or other toppings, just two slices of bread slathered with mustard. He used to tell me it would get rid of whatever ailed you. Dad must have had an inkling about the power of mustard that the rest of us didn’t. Researchers have found that the compound that gives mustard its sharp taste can actually kill or at least restrain the growth of certain weeds or invasive grasses. Organic farmers in particular are highly interested in this discovery which could provide alternatives to such labor intensive methods of weed control as hoeing or hand pulling. While the mustard seed application does not work well on all plant types the success rate for use on peppermint, a crop in Washington State which produces 2.7 million pounds of mint oil annually, is nearly 90 percent Other plants that respond well to mustard seed weed control are ornamentals like potted rose, creeping phlox and coreopsis. The power of the mustard seed to kill weeds proves once again that great things can come in small packages.