Problem Area with Environmental Weeds

18 years ago

Two years ago I purchased a property in SydneyÂs southern suburbs that borders bushland. Part of my dream was to create a native garden in harmony with the local environment, a dream well on its way to fulfilment. However the property is very steep and one section approximately 140m sq is at the top of a cliff and has been untouched for over 20 years and is now overrun with environmental weeds such as fishbone fern, mother of millions and asparagus fern (the usual nasties).
I want to remove the weeds and non-indigenous plants and replace them with local plant varieties and selected tropical grevilleas (for their fast growth habit and for the bird life). Step one is to remove the weeds. I have inspected the area and hand weeding is out of the question because of the terrain, which leads me to believe that spraying glyphosate as the only viable option,.
Are there any other options? This looks like a big job as the area is very rocky and there is a lot of what my fire brigade friends describe as "fuel" tangled in with the fishbone fern and I would appreciate anybodies experiences that might help me along the way. Thanks.

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Comments (4)

gregaryb
18 years ago
Generally speaking glyphosphate is only useful for killing monocotyledons, grasses in particular. It is not useful, via foliar spray, for woody weeds nor for many herbaceous braod leaf weeds, both dicotyledons. The mallows or Malva sp are a perfect example. Glyphosate concentrate is effective against woody weeds and broadleaf weeds if you apply it via the cut & paint method. For woods weeds the best herbicides are Garlon and Esteem/Brushoff or a combination of the two. Garlon will act quickly killing off all the foliage and the Esteem/Brushoff will kick in later and kill any re-growth. For broad leaf herbaceous weeds effective herbicides are Kamba, MCPA and Garlon. These do not generally effect grasses but test them first on any native grasses on your property. I have found out from experence that Garlon does indeed knock Microlaena stipoides quite severely. Garlon can be sprayed over Lomandra longifolia and Lomandra filiformis without ill-effect however Dianellas are sensitive to it. Do not over spray Lomandras with the other mentioned herbicides. If you have problems with weedy grasses among native herbaceous and woody plants then Fusilade is the herbicide of choice as it will kill the grass and leave your native plants alone. If parts of the weedy area are inaccessible on foot you may have to consider applying via a spray rig with which you will have greater reach. Once you reduce the weed biomass it may be then more practical to use more targeted methods like spraying herbicides with a knap sack, cut & paint or hand weeding. If you wish to use some of these other herbicides wou will no doubt need the NSW equivalent of our Agricultural Chemical Users Permit. Contact your state agricultural department for info. Even if you do not require a permit for any of them it would be advisable to do an approriate TAFE course so that you know how to use these chemicals correctly and are aware of their health and environmental dangers.
popi_gw
18 years ago
In my local nature reserve NPWS, last year they did a spray of 1% glyphosate onto swathes of lantana. The theory behind this was that it would kill the lantana and not kill the emerging native seedlings under the lantana. There were not many of the seedlings under the lantana, though, as the lantana supresses growth of any undergrowth. I observed this area about 2 months after the spray, all the lantana was dead. Native seedlings under the lantana where thriving. Of course careful follow up monitoring is crucial to the process, and any necessary weeding should be done. All care should be taken when using chemicals, and they are more effictive when the plants are actively growing. Let us know how you get on. Popi
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gonow
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Tony, I'm unaware of any herbicide that is really effective against your triumvirate. In bushcare they are removed by hand. It might be worth talking to the shire councils bushcare group. In particular Geoff Doret who runs Greenweb may be able to offer assistance.
pos02
18 years ago
I agree that you should contact the council. They will send someone out to help you with what you should do, and also offer support in terms of plants and equipment. I think the first step would be to identify the indigenous plants, and hand weed around them. Spray large areas with a suitable weed killer, and then do maintenance hand weeding over the next few months. You should start to see local plants sprouting within a year. This is the best method, because the area will grow back naturally. The idea though is to keep on top of the weeds. Introducing plants should only be used as a last resort, or to provide a canopy where there is none.

Problem Area with Environmental Weeds

Comments (4)

gregaryb

popi_gw

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