in the first of several videos that don't in any way involve fire, I'm going through the process of dealing with invasive serecia Lezpedesia

Those of you amused at my attire while blowing glass will note that I'm dressed about the same for this process, which will disqualify me from any lawsuits against Dow Chemicals for exposure to their nasty products. Don't let me shame you into being as cavalier. I just figure that heat exhaustion is a much clearer danger.

The point here is to offer what experience I have from the last five years of work to eradicate a very persistent invasive weed from our property. I am no expert, and have mostly learned what I know by speaking to experts and through experience in the field.

We chose to spot spray this weed, which is extremely laborious and kind of discouraging at times. The reason for this is that we have a really nice population of native forbs, which to me means "nice plants that aren't grass" these include several kinds of milkweed, dogbane, a variety of clovers, and many others I can't name.

If the field had been truly overrun with invasive species, I'd have been tempted to broadcast spray it- "kill 'em all and let God sort them out" I'm glad it didn't come to that here, but I wouldn't criticize someone who sees that as the only choice. It'd just take a lot of work collecting native seeds to reestablish the population of natives.

Also, either way, there's a seedbed of the invasives that'll keep popping up year after year, in addition to those that are introduced by birds

This year, we burned the field in February, and I was out there as soon as I could distinguish the Seresia. I figure I've walked the field six or seven times this year alone. It involves slowly weaving around looking for the dreaded weed. It's kind of meditative as well, since I"m taking a mental inventory of all the plants out there. I've spotted four or five different milkweeds as well as other interesting native plants. I do occasionally spray trees that would otherwise invade the field, chiefly dogwoods, elms, and oaks. Our burn this year didn't knock those back, though it did work pretty well on the cedar/junipers.


Oh, and I didn't explain the dish soap. It acts as a surfactant, helping the spray stick to the plant. It also helps it penetrate the waxy layer on the leaves. Who knew it could be so useful?