[Pil-pc-oceania] alternatives to bamboo for windbreaks

Fri Aug 24 10:44:30 EST 2007

If it's a weed, chop it down and use it. Its legal to do so. And very 
permaculture.
I chop stuff down all over the place - tree lucerne at my local train 
station, poplar shoots at another train station, I take english watercress 
(weed) from a local drain and give it to the chooks.

Willows are removed by landcare because:
a) they can cause scour along banks in Australia
b) they can cause streams to narrow too much
c) because it's a weed, generally (so it must be KILLED)

If you are removing a weed's ability to multiply then that is also seen as 
good.

Willows are good stock feed, good for making vegie beds, weaving etc.

They also make good mulch and as Geoff Lawton says, they are "fast carbon 
pathways". So use your weeds!

Love T

Tamara Griffiths
39 Wattle Tree Road
Bunyip
Victoria 3815
03 5629 5918
0407 45 7707
scarletwoman at hotmail.com
http://www.flickr.com/photos/boodicusducky/

"Be the change you want to see in the world." Gandhi

"Will it be believed, a hundred years hence, that such a state of things 
existed?"  Louisa Lawson

"The world is a dangerous place, not because of those who do evil, but 
because of those who look on and do nothing." Albert Einstein

>From: Linda Shewan <linda.shewan at bryn.com.au>
>Reply-To: permacultue discussion 
>list<pil-pc-oceania at lists.permacultureinternational.org>
>To: permacultue discussion 
>list<pil-pc-oceania at lists.permacultureinternational.org>
>Subject: Re: [Pil-pc-oceania] alternatives to bamboo for windbreaks
>Date: Thu, 23 Aug 2007 21:45:04 +1000
>
>Thanks Sue, we don't have bamboo here but I am checking with the shire 
>whether we can cut down poplar and willow trees on the stream edges for the 
>same reason but yet to get a response. It's not really the Landcare 
>operation of complete removal so possibly not hugely beneficial but then I 
>don't imagine it would do any harm either. We have thickets of both along 
>the streams right in town and they are both considered a significant 
>weed...
>
>Linda
>
>From: mossmans [mailto:mossmans at internode.on.net]
>Sent: Wednesday, 22 August 2007 7:09 PM
>To: 'permacultue discussion list'
>Subject: Re: [Pil-pc-oceania] fumigated pallets - conclusion
>
>One thing that can be a win-win situation is to use bamboo, Down in the 
>bush area there is a large area of running bamboo that is a real pest, We 
>harvest the bigger pieces which can be up to an inch thick, then you can 
>weave the smaller thicknesses.
>
>We make sure they are dried so there is no chance of sprouting, and or use 
>it upside down.  Probably can't regenerate anyway, but just in case....  
>You can also split some of the thicker bits when it is dry, and these weave 
>easier.
>
>Then you use a tomato stake into the ground and tie the bamboo to it.
>
>Sue
>
>________________________________
>From: pil-pc-oceania-bounces at lists.permacultureinternational.org 
>[mailto:pil-pc-oceania-bounces at lists.permacultureinternational.org] On 
>Behalf Of niree bingham
>Sent: Wednesday, 22 August 2007 11:36 AM
>To: permacultue discussion list
>Subject: Re: [Pil-pc-oceania] fumigated pallets - conclusion
>
>Further to this discussion on pallets and methyl bromide, etc.  and 
>windbreaks, I would still like to know what other ideas people have for 
>windbreaks as the description Linda has given  below still does not deal 
>with the facts that there must be a high embedded energy in pallets coming 
>from Asia, someone still has to do the MB gassing and therefore will be 
>exposed (and so will the ozone) regardless of the fact that the risks have 
>diminished by the time they are being used, there is the potential for the 
>timber to be 'not-so-sustainable' and there may be a more 'useful' solution 
>(the obvious one would be a fruiting hedge).
>Sorry Linda, I know you may be in a hurry, this is not an attack on your 
>decision, I am just keen for alternatives.
>
>Thanks
>
>--
>Niree Bingham
>
>Greenweave Landscape Architecture and Sustainable Property Design
>
>0407 808 852
>
>
>
>
>On 8/21/07, Linda Shewan 
><linda.shewan at bryn.com.au<mailto:linda.shewan at bryn.com.au>> wrote:
>Thought I would update you from our investigations in case anyone else uses 
>them or is thinking of doing so:
>
>Pallets are treated one of three ways -  fumigated with methyl bromide, - 
>heat treated, - "debarked" , prior to being imported to Australia. The 
>method used is usually printed on the pallet.
>
>Methyl bromide is a toxic pesticide (and ozone depleting) that is injected 
>into soil before planting strawberries, grapes almonds and other crops, and 
>to kill pests in stored commodities in agricultural shipments and in 
>buildings.  As a gas it used to fumigate pallets and is used in 
>pre-shipment applications, applied no less than 21 days prior to export (in 
>NZ).
>
>Reports of acute toxicity seem confined to those who inhale the gas up to 
>two days after application.  Chronic toxicity is reported in people who are 
>repeatedly exposed to the gas over long periods of time - usually those who 
>apply it.
>
>It may build up in soils due to repeated applications.
>
>As it is used as a gas for fumigation purposes and most of the gassing off 
>seems to happen within a relatively short period of time we have decided 
>that aged pallets of this nature will be ok for windbreak purposes.
>
>If anyone has anything more to add, would be happy to hear.
>
>Cheers, Linda
>
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