permaculture

[BrandoM3@aol.com]

We discussed invasive plants last night.  At the MNA's  
(michigannature.org) copperbelly reptile preserve here in Michigan, after the 
 reorganization 6 
years ago, the Stewardship Director, along with many  volunteers, removed 
russian olive shrubs on a field hill, also targeting  purple loosestrife 
around the wetlands.  
 
The snakes didn't mind those plants being around - they  used them as 
cover, shade and basking sites, just like they do on cattails,  buttonbush, 
tree 
limbs, logs, brush piles, muskrat and beaver lodges, in  the water itself.  
Don't buy into any propaganda that says that purple  loosestrife displaces 
cattails, which has very strong rootstalks.
 
Kudzu is a great ground cover, especially on slopes subject to  erosion.  
The vines can be cut back should they start to go onto roads or  start up 
trees.
 
I have Japanese cane here, a type of bamboo.  It forms a  perfect, tall 
(12'+) hedge across our front yard, giving us perfect privacy from  the road. 
 
It grows and spreads from underground root stocks (rhizomes)  laterally.  We 
let it spread, but not into the yard or driveway.  One  other driveway has 
been almost completely covered as we no longer use  it.
 
It is a shame and atrocious that all the naturally-growing hemp in  the US 
has been systematically eradicated.  What a waste of natural  resources!
 
In none of my organic gardens have I used herbicides or pesticides.  I 
relocate praying mantises and toads into the garden to deter plant  pests.  
Woodchucks and rabbits pose no threat to the garden other than  rabbits 
liking 
beans.  Woodchucks feed on the main cause of allergies  - ragweed  (goldenrod 
is not an allergen).  I put mulch - hay or  over-wintered tree leaves I 
pile up -  between the rows to deter overgrown  "weeds" - a wildflower simply 
displaced into the wrong area (garden).   I also grow flowers around the 
garden edges or in their own  beds here and there.  
 
I use my compost pile as fertilizer.  It's also good as  mulch.  
 
Since my legs got weak, I cannot manage it by  myself.
 
 
In a message dated 1/9/2012 7:02:33 A.M. Eastern Standard Time,  
lflj@bellsouth.net writes:


I am  including parts of my replies to posts about eleagnus  umbellata:
<>

They are not on _my_ list (of invasive plants),  nor is kudzu or sericea 
lespedeza. I think you'll find that much of this  "invasive plant" 
propaganda may well be spawned by the herbicide industry  and nurtured by 
lazy gardeners and landscapers. Herbicide use is a  creeping scourge.

The worst invasives, across the globe, are GMO  crops.

There's a use for them (plants with edible fruits). Instead of  
destroying them, harvest and eat them. Allow wildlife to use  them.

It is certainly erroneous to be concerned about significant  spread of 
eleagnus in the Piedmont Bioregion. It is too dry and for the  most part 
has poor soil. As they spread by seed stands are slow to develop  though 
birds and deer can help with this. They just grow too slow and have  too 
much competition from other plants to really become invasive. Apex  
Nurseries sold the eleagnus varieties fruitlandi and angustifolia to  
landscapers. They are welcome additions to any yard, placed properly,  
especially if you are one who likes traditional english cottage gardens  
and it is ideal as part of an element in a permaculture system, aka  
landscape.

It is hysterical to recommend massive removal in areas  where they are 
not a problem, which seems to be happening. I also  challenge, rightfully 
so, claims of "invasives" _causing problems_; i.e.  unwarranted trumped 
up charges against a plant. Often, follow the money  trail to see the 
root cause of this. I grant no special consideration for  conventional 
agriculture, i.e. broadacre monocrop farming; everything  other than the 
cash crop is invasive. They need to practice natural  farming. The third 
world will not starve w/o conventional, chemical-based  or gmo 
agriculture, a ploy to gain control of a nation's food supply,  
destroying traditional farming infrastructure in the process. Again, I  
challenge the "causing problems" rationale to justify eradication of  
certain plants. To tell homeowners that they need to go out and cut down  
and dig up eleagnus wherever it is found is ludicrous and ridiculous.  
Look at the lists of invasive plants and think about how many have  
positive attributes and can easily be controlled with careful planning  
and manual labor. Less TV and more hand  weeding.
_______________________________________________
permaculture  mailing list
permaculture@lists.ibiblio.org
Subscribe, unsubscribe,  change your user configuration or find out more 
about this list  here:
http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/permaculture
Garden Hand  Tool Sourcelist and Biointensive Gardening  Guide
http://www.ibiblio.org/ecolandtech/documents/gardening-hand-tools.faq
permaculture  forums http://www.permies.com/permaculture-forums
Google command to search  the message archives:
site: lists.ibiblio.org/pipermail/permaculture  [searchstring]
Make a donation toward list  maintenance:
https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=N8YGXK5
XLTPAU