permaculture

[stephan leimroth <slimerote@yahoo.com>]

loren,

burning star thistle seems to be a good way to control
it.  but the hazards are too great without extreme
preparation and a fire truck standing by.  the method
i've heard about requires sowing a grass in the fall,
like oats, to provide fuel for torching the thistle. 
you burn when the thistles have flowered 5% (whatever
that means); by this time (early summer)the grasses
are dead, dry and ready to burn and kill the thistle. 
three years of burning are required to make a
difference.

we tried burning here in the winter.  the areas that
had enough fuel to burn (mostly old thistle from last
year) and burned to bare soil, came back to heavy star
thistle--no natives.  depressing and overwhelming.  we
tried burning a couple of days ago, but got scared at
the thought of starting a wild fire and so stopped. 
now we've decided to just try to control them at the
'front' of their charge--mostly by pulling--hoping to
slow down their advance (10 feet/yr by someone's
reckoning).

we've also tried to see the bright side with the
possibilities of yummy honey, but i like to go
barefoot outside around the house and the thistle
makes that painfull in the summer.

now we're thinking goats may be able to do some good;
but making the leap into that kind of commitment is
difficult for us right now.  (intensive, well-managed
cattle grazing is supposed to work too.)

good luck,
stephan.
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