What problems does garlic mustard cause?

Mature garlic mustard plant showing flowers and adult leaves. Photo by: Wisconsin DNR

What does garlic mustard look like?

	Garlic mustard first year seedling; note rounder leaves and small size. Photo by Long Forestry Consultation

Garlic mustard is a biennial herb that usually grows to 2-3 feet when mature, though it spends its first growing season and the following winter as a small, leafy rosette. Leaves are triangular or heart-shaped, and are roughly and irregularly toothed. The second year stem is topped by clusters of small, white, 4-petaled flowers. All parts of the plant small of garlic when crushed, especially early in the season. Adult plants die in midsummer, but persist as tall dead stalks with thin seed pods. Although tolerating a range of conditions, garlic mustard is most common in moist forest edges, open woods, and shaded roadsides. 

How do I manage garlic mustard?

A paper card made from garlic mustard. Photo and product by:Patterson Clark; alienweeds.com

Pulling garlic mustard is very effective in small populations.  Take care to remove the root, and pulling should be done inearly spring, before the plant goes to seed.  Garlic mustard is an extremely hardy plant, and can re-sprout in a compost pile or if left out, and seeds can develop even if the plant was not flowering when pulled.  There are many methods of disposing of pulled garlic mustard to explore.  Larger populations may be managed through herbicide use; spraying is best done in early spring and late fall, when garlic mustard is one of the few green things, so there is little risk to native plants.

Want to eat garlic mustard?

Try one of these many resources for recipes, search for more, or make up your own!  

Please make sure the area you harvest from has not been sprayed with herbicides.

Garlic mustard recipes from Friends of Silgo Creek
Garlic mustard and other recipes from Wildman Steve Brill
Eat it to Beat it! cookbook from Appalachian Forest Heritage Area
Roulade and  ravioli from The 3 Foragers
From Pest to Pesto cookbook from Potomac Highlands CWPMA