>Hugh, > >I made all my seed into pepper last season, but gathered you some tansy >seed from the first time you called for weed seeds. I recently gathered >some spotted knapweed seed. It stays on the plants through the snow >time and the seed sheath takes quite a while to decay and spread the >seeds. (There are lots of knapweeds all listed separately in weed >documents. Do you think each one would require a different card? I >don't have the others in my area.)
Merla, I think each species and even each variety requires a different card. But spotten knapweed is the only one I've heard scary things about. I have heard of both hawkweeds and would like seeds of each. I have Canada thistle but don't have musk. So far down here in Georgia my weed peppers seem to be working wonderfully on this year's garden. This is the first year we have tried them, and some of my worst weeds, like galinsoga, I don't have cards for. But I'll be working on that. The galinsoga is coming up fine where the ragweed and redroot pigweed are not coming up in anything like their usual profusion. There's just a few scattered specimens right now. It doesn't matter too much how you use warmth to drive off all the water and break the plant's connection with the moon. But you want a little of the carbon structure left so it is not all ash, but is "pepper." I appreciate not having a sample contaminated with plastic. Use yours on the roadside, which undoubtedly is already somewhat contaminated with plastic, but I don't want to chose that one for broadcasting. My growing season is upon me and I can't answer long posts. Can you put any questions I don't get to into small posts? Then I can get them done amidst the other distractions. Best, Hugh I will send common tansy and spotted >knapweed to you soon. They are the most widespread weeds we have. >There's a lot of other ones we have on the APHIS third list in Bonner >County. I'll try to gather them for you this summer. I'll ask the Weed >Supervisor and the Weed Committee if anyone has any weed seed samples. > >There are yellow and orange hawkweed, slightly different, yellow is >taller--they are named separately in APHIS weed documents. I know where >there are infestations and I will look when the snow clears, but I think >I won't be able to find the seeds. I'll have to wait until they come >again and start their dandelion-like dispersal. > >There are two kinds of thistle that we are concerned about--Canada and >musk. I don't think I can get that seed again until the end of the >season. They take a whole season to mature. My pepper is both. When I >gathered the seed, I put both in one bag. > >Thanks to Deborah Wark's new email about the Draft Weed Document that >limits interstate travel of seeds without a permit, I was able to read >the original APHIS documents. I'm still working on that. I think we'd >better get these seeds mailed to you before that document becomes law. >It looks like they're most concerned with seeds from other countries in >the A1 and A2 lists, but spotted knapweed, yellow and orange hawkweed >and Canada and musk thistle are on their third list. I surely hope they >don't change the weed laws, but they are likely to do so if they have so >many foreign seeds to worry about. There must be some way to protect >our present freedom to exchange open pollinated food, flower and herb >seeds among ourselves. Common tansy is a herb seed that has become a >problem in the west. You can buy seed packets of it. How can we get >Weed Boards and Committees to be proactive about care of land? The >APHIS site just stirs up anal people to be more reactionary and I'm sure >there is something in all this for Monsanto and Dow! > >I am bothered because both you and the other Hugh have different ways of >burning the seeds to make pepper. HC uses a charcoal >burner--essentially a metal can with some wire mesh in it. You use a >frying pan. My husband helps me in all my endeavors and he is the quick >and dirty king. We had bags and bags of tansy heads. I have 10 quarts >of ash/pepper. Here's how he did it. He made a metal 55 gallon drum >look like HC's charcoal burner by punching holes in the sides at the >bottom and he put a big propane torch into the side of it and stuffed >whole black plastic bags of tansy heads into the drum. HC says the >plastic contaminated the sample, but I could go ahead and use it. >That's why I gathered some more for you. > >I am concerned that I am burning the seeds too much. It's so hard to >know just how much is best. My husband gets very impatient with me when >I am fastidious, but he can sit and measure grains of powder when he is >loading amunition shells. Yet, he is willing to help me and I'm very >thankful for all the help he gives. It takes a few obvious mistakes to >get him to do it my way. He does many jobs much quicker than I do and >he always uses tools. I like to use my hands, especially in dirt. > >Radionics: Hugh, Shirley Hardy has a Meridian Stress Assessment >instrument and another instrument on which she makes her medicine. She >says she doesn't need a Malcolm Rae Card or potency info. Should I have >her get in touch with you and get her straight on how to do this? I am >going to have to go over there with my preps and peppers very soon. >Should I just take the straight pepper to her or should I dilute it to >D8? I don't really grasp how she can use the Malcolm Rae cards in her >setup. I also talked to a Dr. Donald R. Beans in Big Fork, Montana ><[EMAIL PROTECTED]> about all this. He has designed his own radionic >instrument which he sells. He was very nice and helpful. He said to >tell you that titanium(Is that right?) wire would be better than copper >wire in the FB. > >Hugh Lovel wrote: > >> Dear Merla, >> >> The hydroseeding sounds good. Really the grains pump carbon into the >> soil >> in exchange for nitrogen and can be very beneficial. As for your >> weeds--I >> haven't heard of most of these being troublesome. Tansy is a sacred, >> medicinal plant. Thistle is another good one. They might sometimes be >> troublesome, I guess. I don't know hawkweed and knapweed. But any >> plant out >> of place is a weed by definition. >> >> Let me have seeds of the worst weeds you know. Just send me the seeds, >> 1/4 >> cup or so. >> >> Best, >> Hugh >> >> >Lloyd, >> > >> >It's good of you to venture out into this. >> >We have far more money than I can think of things to do...$2200. >> >The Weed Supervisor made a deal with someone in Priest >> >River, another town in this county, who has a hydroseeder and >> >he says they will come and hydroseed this road for free. >> > >> >Lloyd, no one on this road thinks the knapweed, tansy, hawkweed >> >and thistle are a big problem. We have a goodly amount of these >> plants >> >which grow easily in a brittle environment. >> > >> >Knapweed is 18-24"tall, has a central tap root and makes lots and >> lots >> >of seeds that have at least a 10-year viability in the soil. It has >> pretty >> >pink/purple flowers that make good honey. It is allelopathic and >> will >> >take over a pasture. That's why it's on the noxious weed list. >> > >> > >> >Common tansy is tall with a 4" whorl of yellow buttonflowers and a >> woody >> >root that you have to chop out if you let the plant go for awhile. >> >The flowers are used in flower arranging. They have an acid smell >> and can be >> >used to repel ants. I think they're poisonous to animals. >> > >> > >> >Hawkweed has yellow and orange flowers and goes through its lifecycle >> >> >three or four times in a summer getting more and more flowers on the >> stem with >> >each >> >cycle. It has very shallow roots that entwine with sod and it >> spreads by seed >> >and by >> >rhyzome each cycle. It's very pretty, but more invasive than even >> knapweed, >> >but not >> >poisonous. >> > >> >Thistle must be universal. It has a very deep root that can't be >> pulled after >> >the first year. >> > >> > >> >Few of the native broadleaf plants can compete with these strong >> invasive >> >plants. They >> >come to overgrazed, dry poor land. Our soil is glacial till--sandy >> with >> >rocks. The seeds >> >come in on vehicle tires starting at the head of the road and then >> spread up >> >into the >> >mountains. >> > >> >There is no chance to ever get rid of them, but the ag chemical >> industry >> >finances the >> >ag department at the universities and they declare a new noxious weed >> often. >> >It's an >> >unending cycle. The herbicide makes the soil worse and the weeds are >> >> >perpetuated. >> > >> >If we were proactive about the soil and the environment and came at >> this >> >problem >> >from that perspective, we could keep them under control, maybe, but >> we >> >react to >> > >> >the symptoms, not the problem. >> > >> >I love the road the way it is. I would just like to spray the preps >> and the >> >peppers and >> >mow and weed whack the seedheads every year and call it a day, but >> the Weed >> >Board, >> >who support the chemical industrial agriculture model, require >> eradication, >> >whether >> >it's a myth or not. Our roads are sprayed every third year and they >> think >> >they >> > >> >haven't done their job if they don't spray. They allow individual >> families to >> >declare >> >their right-of-way "NO SPRAY", but we are the first road every to ask >> for no >> >spray >> >on the whole road. It threatens their paradigm--their whole way of >> life. >> >This >> >state is >> >heavily behind GWB. Herbicide and chemical fertilizer are part of a >> whole >> >religio-political >> >system. >> > >> >I wish I could back out of my Weed Committee post and get away from >> these >> >people. It's >> >anti-life and attracts people with anal personalities...just the >> opposite of >> >mine. I >> >feel that herbicide is ruining the earth. That's why I signed on to >> this. >> >The >> >EPA >> >is overrun with former ag chemical lobbyists. We are in deep do-do! >> They >> >mean >> >to >> >have this country their way, like Mao in China. >> > >> >Right now, I'm dreading the Weed meeting tomorow night. I'm riding a >> tiger. >> > >> >Steve Driver who is on this list is a Researcher/Writer for ATTRA >> (Appropriate >> >Technology Transfer for Rural Areas) and has written a handout >> "Principles of >> >Sustainable Weed Management for Croplands" and has also a wonderful >> handout >> >on "Biodynamics" which explains a lot of things I didn't know. You >> can see >> >them on pdf files on their website www.attra.ncat.org and order them. >> >> > >> >Thanks again for the support. >> > >> >Merla >> > >> > >> > >> > >> > >> > >> > >> > >> > >> > >> > >> > >> > >> > >> > >> > >> > >> > >> > >> >. >> > >> > >> > >> >Lloyd Charles wrote: >> > >> >> ----- Original Message ----- >> >> From: Merla <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >> >> To: BD Now <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>; Deidre Allen >> >> <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>; <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >> >> Sent: Wednesday, April 03, 2002 5:03 PM >> >> Subject: Merla's Road Project Plan--Questions >> >> >> >> Hi Merla >> >> Have you had a look at the dollar cost of your project yet? - you >> mention >> >> hydroseeding -does the cost of this come out of your grant money - >> this is >> >> an expensive operation and will use up your grant money very fast >> !! In >> >> Australia hydroseeding is only used to stabilise steep embankments >> and areas >> >> that have been bare cut in major roadbuilding projects, our local >> council >> >> (county) roadworks would not be able to afford this. >> >> > Is this new idea of the allelopathic plants too drastic? Is >> there >> >> > anyone who knows about rye, oats, barley and vetch ? >> >> >> >> "I have this beautiful western wooded country road, but it has >> "noxious" >> >> weeds on it" >> >> >> >> Tell us how bad the weed problem is - what grows where - are they >> all over >> >> or just growing in certain areas - and what is the soil like - is >> there a >> >> problem with low calcium / acid soil. How much ground cover is >> there in >> >> normal growing seasons?? >> >> >> >> > so now we are going to hydroseed cereal rye, oats, barley, vetch >> mix to >> >> > possibly dominate the situation and crowd out the weeds, but I >> don't >> >> > know anything about these plants. Is this the right thing to >> do? Will >> >> > I also get rid of the native grass that's there now? >> >> > >> >> > What happens when the cereal plants all get big and go to seed? >> I can't >> >> > plow them under because I don't want to disturb the ground and >> bring up >> >> > seeds lurking there. Do we cut them and make mulch or do we cut >> them >> >> > and compost them with BC or compost tea? The oats and barley >> will go >> >> > away, but the rye is supposed to reseed. Will there be enough >> minerals >> >> > and microscopic babies in the soil to grow them at all if I use >> just the >> >> > energy from the field spray, 500, 501, BC, 508 with a radionic >> device? >> >> > Is the energy enough? Should I just sprinkle the rye in the worst >> >> >> > places? We have been offered a straw shredding, blowing, >> mulching >> >> > machine. How thick do we spread the straw? I can't even find >> straw >> >> > that doesn't have chemicals on it because of the certified hay >> law. >> >> > >> >> > We have a custom reclamation mix waiting in the wings for >> fall--How will >> >> > we plant this--in the stubble? Should I put more BC or compost >> tea on >> >> > to compost the stubble? What is the best timeline for all this? >> Will >> >> > we be moving too fast? Should we take a couple of years getting >> rid of >> >> > the weeds and then seed the grass and native wildflowers? If I >> do that, >> >> > will I get another cost-share grant next year or the year after? >> >> Try to keep your approach simple so that you can go forward rather >> than >> >> round in circles Cheers >> >> Lloyd Charles >> >> > >> >> > >> >> Visit our website at: www.unionag.org Visit our website at: www.unionag.org
