As the weather warms, King County’s gardeners are venturing outside to till the soil, plant, and watch their new crops grow. But in and around many of our community gardens, another plant thrives: poison-hemlock, a noxious weed that can be fatal to people and animals.
As we mentioned in our post last month, young poison-hemlock looks very similar to wild carrot, but all parts of it are poisonous. Eating even a small amount of one can lead to hospitalization and death. The plant also loves to grow near—and even in—urban gardens. Sound like a disaster waiting to happen?
To help alert gardeners, the King County Noxious Weed Control Program is posting poison-hemlock alert posters at many P-Patches and other community gardens in King County. If you know of a community garden or other public space where a poster might be useful, regardless of whether you’ve seen poison-hemlock in the area, please don’t hesitate to contact us! We’ll be happy to mail you laminated posters. You can also download the posters from our website.
The posters are 11×17” or 8.5×11”, weatherproof, and available in nine languages: English, Spanish, Vietnamese, Chinese, Khmer, Russian, Tigrinya, Somali, and Amharic. One poster can hold three languages. There is also a version entirely in English and one entirely in Khmer.
For more information on poison-hemlock identification and control, see the following links:
Don’t eat this plant! Poison-hemlock may be growing near you
King County Noxious Weed Alert: Poison-hemlock (Conium maculatum)
King County Noxious Weed Control Program: Poison-hemlock (Conium maculatum)
Be careful out there, and happy gardening!
Thanks so much for this post (and the reference to it in the KC Employee News). I have this growing all over my yard and garden, including my carrot bed, and had no idea what it was or that it was toxic.