Q: I’m using glyphosate on my prolific purple vetch weed, which grows rapidly and pops up everywhere in spring! What eradicates it permanently?

A: Nothing eradicates vetch permanently. You’ll have to deal with it occasionally if there are any uncontrolled patches near your landscape. Best management is to fight it on three fronts: always apply in September a weed preventer that lists vetch on the label; carefully spot spray any new tendrils with a non-selective herbicide (Roundup, etc); hand pull and destroy any vines you discover that have the vetch “bean pods” hanging from them. Since there are likely seeds in the ground that will sprout in the next year or two, getting reasonable control usually takes three years.