Woman launches 'Harvest of the Beast' contest to fight Alberta's 'evil' weed

"Don't be fooled. This is not nice. It will trick you. It's evil."

Chelsea Sherbutmight have her tongue in cheek, but sheisn't messing around.

The Lethbridge woman wants to wipe one invasive weed off the Alberta map: the creeping bellflower.

In fact, Sherbuthates it so much that she's started a "Harvest of the Beast" contest on Facebook with cash prizes, with the rallying cry: "Let's unite together, as Albertans, to take a stand against this insidious plague!"

• Attention, gardeners: creeping bellflower is a zombie weed
• Creeping bellflower: How to fight the noxious weed spreading in Calgary yards

"It is a beast. If you are not sure what it is, it will take over if you just blink for a second," Sherbut told the Calgary Eyeopeneron Friday.

First you need to know what it looks like.

"It starts out in the spring as little heart-shaped leaves. As the season progresses, anywhere it doesn't get cut downit will develop a taller stalk," Sherbut explained.

"The stalk will have heart-shaped leaves along the bottom, a red stem near the ground. Near the top it will have pointier leaves that are attached to the stem. It will get these five-lobed purple-blue flowers along the top."

Now you need to know what to do with it.

"They have these little tiny roots and you think you have got it, but you haven't got it. You have to dig down one to two feet to get the mother ship tuber out of the ground."

Now what?

Enter her Facebook contest in one of the following categories: Longest, girthiest (oh my) and heaviest.

Show your work. Send them a picture showing the length or weight of your capture.

"Dig it up, measure it or weigh it. Submit it to the Facebook page," Sherbut said.

"Anyone can enter but only Albertans can win."

• #YouShouldNOTGrowThis: The creeping bellflower
• Creeping bellflower added to city's noxious weeds list

There's $50 in gift certificates in each category but get your entry in no later than midnight on Monday, Aug. 5, which isHeritage Day in Alberta.

"Spend your long weekend digging up bellflower, get a nice clean yard and maybe profit," Sherbut said.