permaculture

[mangodance <bmn@iglou.com>]

FranksFarm@aol.com wrote:
> Say...now this is something" Weedscapes" I'm very interested in.
> I have lots of Biodiversity on this farm which has only been partially used
> for a long period of time. So there are lots of evolving habitats...forest,
> wetlands, stream side, bottoms, pasture etc.
> 
> I'm trying to learn to ID weeds, and understand what they do and add. Why
> they succeed...and what they indicate. One of problems is that I'm not a
> botanist...and have a hard time Identifying the actual weeds. Any good
> sources for such , pictures. Most encyclopedia/databases don't work since I
> don't know the latin name or even common name for the plant.

Are you near a college, extension office, NRCS office, forest
service office, usda research lab or some such other agency that
might either have folks who teach on the side, lead walks or have
adult ed classes?  This is a good place to start.  State native
plant societies, wild ones, natural history societies, etc. can
also be good resources.  Where do you live?  I may be able to
point you to something.  Also, one of the best things you can do
is buy a handlens.  This helps a great deal but won't let you see
everything.  Unfortunately, there is no one really great source
for plant taxonomy.  You are stuck with looking at multiple
references and looking for help.
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