Since I work on a private estate in exchange for room and board I have noticed how different species of weeds and plants cycle through the seasons in the same growing areas. The early mild winter weather here allowed onion grass and marsh marigold to get a head start and size up earlier than usual and the current freeze has them in check but I expect an explosion of growth and flowering once March warms up. So to offset the proliferation I shall cut off their heads in the following weeks to weaken their resolve. Some will perish outright and leave space for wild garlic mustard and a host of annual weeds to take their place. The hills will come alive again by April, in earnest, and I shall use my weedwhacker to stop the advancing hordes. I care for 11 acres in the wood, my weedwhacker is a grass scythe or one of those golf club type cutters. If I have to resort to gas powered whackers it would be when things get too far out of hand. I try to be minimal in my destruction. Rather than resort to chemicals and poison I merely prevent the plants from flowering until the next new wave of summer growers try to take advantage of the fallow earth. The 4 years of reduction excercise has worked wonders on limiting invasive species and kept the native weeds from engulfing otherwise pristine forest and hillside meadows. I have of course looked into the useful qualities of some weeds and will gather jewelweed (wild impatien) because I have friends who have used the distillation of the plant to cure the misery of poison ivy. Where feasible I have lugged corn gluten to spread out on those patches prone to annual weedfests prior to forecasts of brief showers, so the enzymes that are released will prevent weed seed germination. 8I
HMmmm... I remember those. LOL But actually, I'm sure you're right. There are also cycles within the insect world too that match-up with the plant cycles. For many years I've had real good luck by eliminating a weed that will be the food for an about to emerge bad insect. They come out of hybernation or migrate in or hatch or whatever & Suprise!!! No food. Keeping track of the cycles of beneficial bugs & being sure there's plenty of food waiting for them works well too. But I'm also careful to NOT wipe out the bad bugs, because then the good bugs will suffer, and won't be here when I need them. And 8I, good to see you here in the Garden Forum.... the best of all the forums. Peace, poor_old_dad
Thanks POD. I remember a communal gardener that was tired of other gardeners scoffing up his heirloom tomatoes. He planted stinging nettles around the 'maters! I had never felt their sting and brushed a shin against a few leaves...impressive. 8I
I have a friend who lives up the Coast from here in the middle of a wood...he never moves fallen trees at they are important to the micro-ecosystem in the wood. Weed control again - as POD says, is often a good bug bad bug thing. Most of the clearing and pathways in this wood - which is really ancient - is done by deer (rutting routes)and other wildlife. Try not to go too mad. Woodlands are the last bastions of safety for so many creatures!! As POD says, this is probably the best forum on the site!!
Hello Seabreeze and thank you. No I only attack the invasives and the weeds that are vectors of disease or harbor detrimental bugs. I also leave much of the acreage untouched, the owners like it that way. Matter of fact the deceased husband of my employer was a former mayor who passed a law decreeing no trees could be cut down without approval by the town and a permit issued only after the tree was inspected. Most owners around here want to take down trees in order to see the sea from their living rooms, a trend started in earnest with new homeowners in the late 70's. Thankfully it has been adhered to for the most part, some neighbors have topped trees, not good, but better than eliminating the trees altogether. We have deer here but they have brought ticks along with them so it isn't too good a thing to have a herd moving through the wood. Drivers aren't used to having deer on the roadways and there have been accidents already. We leave any trimming or branches stacked along ridges to shore up the hillsides and to provide forage and shelter for birds and critters. Pruning weak and diseased limbs are good preventive maintenance for the wood in general. Now I have to find a way to organically eliminate the mice that have become tick infested via the deer. The hawks and owls and fox can only do so much. I have used garlic oil to keep the ticks at bay around my house but I can't do anything about the property itself, we do not use poisons here. So I just cover up and douse myself with natural repellents. Bee tested 3 times and no Lyme disease...yet. 8I
Hi there 8eyedspy! Sounds like your people are environmentally aware so you are lucky you don't have to do battle as it were. Pruning is good. It does help the trees become stronger. Tagetes in essential oil form with stop the ticks from biting. That is what we use here. I make up a solution for my friend who works in the woods up here. Also if you plant lavender,tagetes, rosemary and mint (in pots as it is so invasive) around your house a) it will look and smell great and b) it will keep the bugs at bay. We have a problem here on the West coast of Scotland with these horrible beasties that bite called midges and they stay away from my deck area because of these aromatics. This means nice long summer nights bug free!! I guess there must be somekind of Natural Heritage group that could give you advice on control. Here it generally tends to be the farmers that get up in arms about too many of one species. Scottish natural Heritage usually provides the answers and comes down in favour of the animals I'm pleased to say! I do understand your problem though - esp if you are being asked to deal with some of these issues. Large populations of one one particular animal often means that there is lots of food around and with the hotter summers wild food is in abundance. Peace
