[Homestead] Re: How To - maybe not ....

Toni Hawryluk tonihawr at msn.com
Tue Nov 2 01:29:35 EST 2004


There is just no doubt that environmentalists are going around and frightening nurseries into dropping plants they've deemed invasive.  

Bill, I suggest you read "A Plague of Rats
and Rubber Vines" before you spout off
any more about environmentalists .... not
criticizing - just doesn't sound to me like
you understand *all* the ramifications
of "invasive" plants.

> Acacia dealbata (snip) work parties have been organized to remove this deadly weed in Northern 
California.

Yes. They have. And I have no doubt that
there's *damn* good reason for it. In California.
Think of English ivy smothering forest trees.
Kudzu climbing telephone poles. Water hyacinths
in Florida hindering navigation ... I would
suppose you're close enough to California to
be 'at risk' .... Here's what I found about 
Acacia - but admittedly not dealbata :
(since so many people cannot correctly
identify varieties, better not to sell any)

http://invader.dbs.umt.edu/Noxious_Weeds/state_run.asp?state=California

 

Results of your query

 

Acacia paradoxa<http://invader.dbs.umt.edu/scripts/esrimap.dll?name=Noxious_map&Plant_Name=Acacia+paradoxa&submit1=Submit&Choice=1&CMD=Map> (kangaroothorn) ........... B............

Noxious weeds in California, where the categories for noxious weeds are as follows:
A   Noxious weed and noxious weed seed: eradication, containment, rejection, or other holding action at the state-county level. Quarantine interceptions to be rejected or treated at any point in the state. 

 

B   Noxious weed and noxious weed seed: eradication, containment, control or other holding action at the discretion of the commissioner 

 

C   Noxious weed and noxious weed seed: state-endorsed holding action and eradication only when found in a nursery; action to retard spread outside of nurseries at the discretion of the commissioner; reject only when found in a cropseed for planting or at the discretion of the commissioner. Designated noxious weeds in the CA Code of Regulations. 

 

Q           Noxious weed and noxious weed seed: temporary "A" action outside of nurseries at the state-county level pending determination of a permanent rating. 


> Red clover and Lotus uliginosus are two other common 

perennial cover crops 

that are now extremely hard to find.  Virtually all the red clover seed in shops has been replaced by 'Kenland' Red, which is very short-lived; real red clover lives for years.  

There are two types of clover - annual and 
perennial. If you plant your *real* red clover,
you are planting a perennial that will not
give place **as a cover crop** to whatever
you plant in succession, once it gets a good
hold in your soil. If you indeed want a 'cover
crop' for the purpose of keeping the weeds
down *between crops*, why do you want 
a perennial you will have to weed out sooner
or later ? Unless you don't want a 'cover crop'
to keep weeds down ....

> I'm really impressed by the infantile logic of it all.  "Butterfly bush becomes invasive closer to the coast, therefore it should be banned everywhere."  Maybe we should ban matches, since someone *might* do harm with them. Bill
S. Oregon coast

Another aspect of butterfly bush is that it 
seems to be misnamed - it doesn't feed the 
larva so there's no point in planting it as a 
butterfly attractant since any eggs laid on
it won't survive ... secondly, since it's so 
aggressive even on the poorest soil, it's 
replacing *real* butterfly larva food. Or 
maybe you don't like butterflies ?

As for matches ? Tell that to all the folks
whose homes have been torched by kids
playing with 'em - and the kids that have
died in those fires ... Bad day here today -
I wanted to finish painting outside - but
it's raining. Again.


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