permaculture

[stephan leimroth <slimerote@yahoo.com>]

hello,

here in california, star thistle is taking over the
land, probably to help the soil recover from
insensitive cattle grazing management.  i dislike
killing it, but must since i like to walk barefooted. 
this spring i pulled a bit of it, roots and all, when
the plants had both buds and early blooms.  a week
later, i returned to the same spot.  the plants i had
pulled had gone crispy, but the blooms seemed to be
alive and well.  i intended to keep observing these to
see if the seeds would develop to maturity but got
side-tracked.

i wonder if anyone knows if this is possible:  could
the plant possibly have enough energy to complete the
seed after being pulled by the roots?

concerning mowing the stuff:  for star thistle, it 
seems that mowing must be repeated several times. 
star thistle has no problem making new flowers at the
base of the stem, very near the soil surface.  aside
from a well planned fire treatment (or maybe goats?)
pulling it by the roots seems to be the only
guaranteed 'cure'.

regards,

stephan leimroth

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