Working bees on 27th March and 4th April

 Mt Rogers scheduled working bees are on Sunday 27th March and Monday 4th April. Each starting at 09.00am.

For Sunday please park in the eastern arm of Schwarz Place, Flynn. We have gaiters and some gloves but it would help if you bring your secateurs. 

Today (22 March) I had a walk mostly across country and felt further despondency at the contrast between the wooded sections and the more open spaces in terms of the principal weed species  that have thrived on the La Nina weather systems’ rain events. 

Most numerous are the Fleabanes (left x2), then Prickly Lettuce (right x2) both members of the ‘daisy’ family and with seeds that ‘parachute’ away on the slightest breeze now that they are ripe. 

Slightly less obvious and species volunteers have also worked on managing are the recognisable purple Thistle and the yellow-flowered spike of the Verbascum or Mullein. 

The rehydrated soils have stimulated mass germination of these and other less obvious introduced species. Some species’ seeds can remain viable in the soil for decades. Trillions have grown around the ACT, the region and beyond. This season’s seeds will top-up the seed bank awaiting conducive conditions in the future. 

I waded through the tall grasses along the tracks kangaroos have made when traversing the reserve over the decades eventually heading towards an ancient eucalypt that was surrounded by a huge spread of Honeysuckle until we overcame it. 

I noticed someone had tied a nest box to another gum tree. It had a large 7-8cm circular opening facing north east. I was musing “Which species is the installer trying to attract”, when there were some almost cockatoo-like shrieks of annoyance. 

I looked up to see two agitated Galahs flapping wings and shrieking. Simultaneously a slumber-disturbed Sugar Glider exited the nest box and ran away around the trunk. I realised the glider had disappeared as the Galahs calmed down, resuming their eleven o’clock routine on the tree’s huge branches. 

When we worked on the Honeysuckle there was a pair of Galahs present. Presumably today’s Galahs were that same pair.

I made my way across towards the summit with renewed hope after that, lighter steps through the rank grasses being impossible.

Near Snow Gum Corner in the reserve’s south east there were many small birds in the canopy of a huge Apple Box eucalypt. They were feeding and calling, each species with its own musical phrases of contact calls for keeping in touch. 

As some of the birds flew close to Schwarz Place’s trees I noticed two diving down to the shorter native grasses. Scarlet Robins back to Mt Rogers for the cooler months…when Tuesday (23 March) is to be 29 degrees!

Thank you, 

Rosemary

P.S. At our last session near the Tree of Heaven site, we found that a wooden bench  seat  had been installed to take in the magnificent views. The seat had been taken from near the Benchmark tree 150m away where everyone could enjoy a shaded rest. Now people would need  serious, weed-repellent gear to reach the seat. 

Next working bee, and what we've done recently

The next scheduled Mt Rogers working bee is on Monday 7th March. We’ll meet at Wickens Place, Fraser by 09.00am and return to the task of tackling weed species that will be dispersing their ripening seeds within the next few weeks. 

If able to volunteer then please bring secateurs and water to drink. 

As you can see from the photo (immediately below) of Roger, Colette, Jennifer, Phil and hidden Ted at work on Sunday 27th, it’s a search and destroy mission for the target species shown in the next photo below:

 

in order, left - right: Fleabane, Verbascum (Mullein), Thistle and
Prickly Lettuce. 

We’ll have gloves, gaiters and other tools. 

The photo just above shows the value of gaiters. Each of these Paspalum seeds has enough hooks to cling to the threads of the fabric. This seed  dispersal method was the inspiration for Velcro many decades ago. 

Here’s the pile of St John’s Wort (photo below) that was pulled out of the grassland north of Jacob Place, Flynn a few weeks ago. Xtine is now putting the remains in their rubbish bin bit by bit... A really helpful contribution as this noxious weed needs to be deeply buried rather than go to a Green Waste recycling site. 

Jennifer is aiming to put up some mini-posters showing what the target species look like. The suburbs are as full of these weed species as the reserves are. They, and hundreds of annual weeds have thrived in the damp conditions from La Nina. 

Here are some methodologies for managing the current target species:

Pull St John’s Wort whilst the soil’s still damp and leave in dense piles on top of Phalaris, Paspalum grasses or other undesirable plants in full sun if possible. Some volunteers pile weeds up on the ‘bare' ground under eucalypts where the seeds are less likely to germinate.

Verbascum or Mullein: cut heads off and bag if there’s enough bags and the capacity to carry their weight out of the infestation area. Pile up untransportable heads in one exposed place. Pull plant out if the soil’s damp enough to allow this without causing hernias or back damage. Pile up stems in one or more places also on top of undesirable species. Rosettes of younger plants are daubed with herbicide. 

Thistles: cut off any flowerheads that are coloured-up/about to open for pollinators and bag these. Also cut and bag brown heads. Cut the rest of the flowering area of the plant into short lengths. Leave on the ground to 'cook' and then rot down.

Lop the plant close to the soil.

Prickly Lettuce: There’s so much of it that bagging the flowerheads is unrealistic. But cutting flowerheads off and then covering them with the weight and mass of the rest of the plant should prevent any seeds from blowing away. 

I also wondered abut getting some  sturdy black plastic bags and filling them with Prickly lettuce heads. Then leaving each bag on a patch of ferals to see if the PL rots and then dies by enclosed cooking. Need to retrieve the black plastic bags at some stage. 

Fleabane: Green and young plants are pullable at present and leave where they are. If flowering or seeding, cut and bag heads if possible. If not cut flower and seeding heads off, pile them in one place and pile the remains of the plants on top. Pulling up is best but unlike SJW they bring a clod of soil with them which brings light to other seeds in the disturbed soil. Holding down the soil with one foot whilst pulling helps leave half the soil clod in situ, Steve’s found. I’ve felt guilty for some recently when they have moss growing round them. Mosses and lichens are so essential for preventing soil washing or blowing away.   Cutting the Fleabane off at ground level will set the plant back but it’s likely to resprout. 

Mustard: Pull up the plants if soil’s damp enough and make dense piles of them on top of feral vegetation. TCCS staff did take six woolbags of Mustard away for us in 2020 and piles of SJW from Hall in 2022 but their ability to do this depends on other commitments. 

I hope your gardens are free of these invasive species.

Keep a lookout for clusters of privet and ivy seedlings growing under trees, shrubs and along fencelines.  They’re easy to pull out when young. The seedlings come from berries that birds feast on in others’ gardens  and poo into the reserves when they fly over or perch on trees. 

There’s no such thing as low maintenance gardening is there?

Thank you for all your diverse contributions to Landcare,

Rosemary