[Pil-pc-oceania] Invasive species

[Deb Guildner]

For the record, I have not blamed permies for weeds.  Weeds have been around 
long before permaculture.  What I am discovering is that permaculturists 
have apparently been blamed for spreading weeds, and seem to have a gripe 
about it...which I seem to be attracting!!!

Sometimes one can point to the source of the weed, some weed experts can 
determine how long a weed has been in a particular situation or area, but a 
lot of the time weeds have been around for a very long time.  I have had to 
remove plants that I have intentionally and unintentionally been responsible 
for importing.  Mistakes happen, that's called a learning curve.  Its just 
that much harder when its a tree, especially one you like, but its in the 
wrong place, and you dont realise your mistake until it's 15 feet tall. 
Oops!

No 1 on my hit list would have to be kikuyu, but it is probably just as well 
it isnt a declared noxious weed, or million of bucks worth of roundup would 
have been thrown at trying to control it. The CSIRO recommended it for 
stabilising overcleared slopes - for the purpose of grazing cattle.

I hear that planting apple trees in amongst blackberries is a good strategy: 
the blackberries roots prepare the soil so aiding the establishment of the 
apple trees. I think there is even some companion elements at work with 
those two species. The trees in turn help to shade out (and control) the 
balckberries, which like many weeds, would not be there if there wasnt so 
much light and space. Nature abbhors a vacuum. Familiar story?

What IS and what ISN'T a declared noxious weed is often political, 
especially where the pastoral industry is concerned. Hey, if grazers eat it 
and dont get sick, it aint a weed, and if grazers eat it and get sick, it is 
a weed.  Its elementary,Watson.

Defining why a plant is or isnt a weed (in any given situation) is the first 
thing that needs to be addressed.
Each plant has to be assessed on its individual merits. I have learned quite 
a bit from weed experts.
One said to me:  "A wetland is a mosaic in space and time".
With wetlands being a window on the water table, it is easy to understand 
why, especially now that water is so elusive:
now you see it, now you don't.

Rather than taking plants in isolation, it is easier to deal with guilds of 
plants, really.
A plant outside of its home terrain is a lonely plant...'like a boll 
weevil...looking for a home'.
I have rarely seen a plant out of its home territory that did not compete 
with a plant that was already at home there for the same ecological niche.
I have learned a lot about ecological interactions by watching weeds. They 
may seem ordinary, but it's the way they fit into the landscape is most 
elucidating.

Deb
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "tamara griffiths" <scarletwoman at hotmail.com>
To: <pil-pc-oceania at lists.permacultureinternational.org>
Sent: Thursday, September 13, 2007 7:24 PM
Subject: Re: [Pil-pc-oceania] Tim Low: Melb Sept 28th: Talk re 
invasivespecies


> Around here, permies are THE cause of weeds and we are frowned upon by 
> lots
> of the Landcare and environmental people.
>
> We were also on the grassy knoll. I am sick of it, to tell the truth.
>
> I am reading Peter Andrews "Back from the Brink" and there is a very good
> chapter in there on weeds - they are our friends, we slash them regularly
> and they give us fertility. He also says that the belief that weeds are 
> just
> waiting to infest every piece of land is just nonsense - they obviously
> haven't. (I am reading him in conjunction with PA Yeomans and am enjoying
> the thoughts I am having).
>
> Geoff Lawton is a huge fan of weeds - he calls them fast carbon pathways.
> Bill just keeps mowing them. So do I! I love the things.
>
> I think that weeds are always there for a reason. They show us lots of
> things about the soil and its amount of damage and they grow us lots of
> mulch. For free.
>
> The permaculture adage that "The problem is the solution" is really
> important when we look at weeds. "How do I get rid of blackberries" is 
> such
> a common question on the forums it makes me want to scream.
>
> And, using poison on weeds is in fact massive microbe murder and wrong 
> wrong
> wrong.
>
> Tamara
>
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