No football today so we got to have a lie-in. Took the boys into town to get tools to control noxious weeds. After lunch we went to try them out. Used the machete on the gorse, it is very invasive and little plants are springing up in all the pastures. Eric the chemist tells me that the only way to defeat the weeds is to poison them. Buring gorse makes it more fertile apparently.
Being pretty convinced that chemical control of weeds is a "bad idea" I am loath to start spraying now. I have managed to control a whole host of nasties on my various allotments: couch grass, bindweed, thistles etc. The situation here is a bit different, different country, climate and a rather larger scale, but I want to try to do without the herbicides. If anyone out there can give me some ideas I am listening! The main problems are gorse, tobacco plant and pampas grass.
Eric saved a goldfinch from the jaws of death. Moe had this lovely bird firmly gripped and Eric chased her for a good 10 minutes before she would let it go. He then nursed it back to health and let it go at our new place. It makes a change for Eric to be so concerned about saving life as he has recently been obsessed about methods of killing animals.
2 comments:
hi there Mike, Chantelle, Stuart, Eric and Patrick, from Patrick, Halla, Ishbel, Gerard and Vania!
I'd go for agent orange Mike or failing that i hear paraquat works wonders-come on it'sthe 21st century after all- hand weeding's been out for decades-london on the other hand doesn't seem vastly diffrent to last time iwas here - gerard and vanya totally sorted as usual in supreme luxury and style -sounds like you're takin'NZ impressively in your stride, hang in there guys! Gerard told Ishbel to say HI! but she deleted it all (just like her!).
Gerard: hey guys!!!!! fantastic to hear from you. sorry it's been so long. you got a really nice garden! we're writing this in a council estate in london without a scrap of green for miles.... you have got it sorted guys! Halla, Ishbel and Patrick are visiting 2 days and have been to Natural History museum and saw an earthquake and went inside Pluto (up an escalator)!
Vania is pregnant!!! 15 weeks, and gives lots of love, and says you're settling really happily there.
Wow! what a great message and good to hear from you all. If the hand weeding gets too arduous I'll call in the american airforce and orange the whole place, in the mean time, I am finding that taking out a large pampas clump, is the ideal way to relieve stress. Machete is good for starting, but the hatchet is great for getting into the root and giving it a good chop.
I was getting concerned at my increasingly sedentary life-style and my inability to get into some form of regular exercise just for the sake of exercise. I think I may have discovered the answer!
Say hello to Katie.
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