I kill weeds, I must admit. I was talking to my daughter about writing a weed blog for UC Cooperative Extension and asked her what I should say I do (kindergarteners have the best ideas). She replied, bluntly, “you kill weeds, daddy.” She’s right of course, and admitting that I treat invasive plants in a nefarious manner is the first step to progress. I kill weeds, but there is so much more to weed management then just killing weeds.
I kill weeds in natural areas or wildlands. Although it’s the same principles and methods as working in agricultural weed control, there is no monetary profit when managing vegetation in wildlands (the management budget is also small but I digress). The “profit” I see is increased biological diversity, hopefully you feel the same way.
Unfortunately, Southern California is like an orange; there is a tough layer on the surface just below all the juicy goodness. Most of the vegetation in the foothills and valleys of Southern California is a carpet of weeds. From the desert to the coast, invasive mustards, grasses, thistles, and many other different plants dominate. In some cases you can walk on a carpet of weeds and not see the bloom of a single native wildflower. Once you peel away that tough skin the sweetness of the native plants can be seen with beautiful spring blooms, and the other organisms that use them as a food source can thrive too. Wildflowers used to be abundant over hundreds of square miles of Southern California. Many people do not know how beautiful it used to be and our landscapes could be restored, by killing weeds. Southern California could be home to wonderful wildflower shows.
I kill weeds with a variety of methods. Working in wildlands allows me to use a variety of tools; chemicals, tractors, trucks, and backpack sprayers are well known, but how much more fun is it to use prescribed fire, cows, sheep, goats or to work with dedicated human volunteers. Other factors that are important in vegetation management are timing and rates of application, abundance of plants both native and nonnative, species of invasive plant, how long the seed remains viable and how abundant the weed seed is in the seed bank. If you are unsure of these variables do some research and talk to a weed scientist. This can greatly help improve your chances of success.
I kill weeds in arid and semi-arid landscapes, which means precipitation is lacking and variable. Success can be too. If rainfall is overly abundant, early, scant or late project timing will need to be modified. Working in arid systems also means the weed season is short. Project planning and monitoring are critical. In one year January might be optimal timing and February might be too late. In other years November might be optimal. In some years there is only one shot at effective management.
In the future I will give you tips, ideas, and inspiration to effectively manage vegetation in arid and semi-arid wildlands. Today I hope I introduced you to this unique subsection of invasive plant management.