Re: Goat-proof plants?
- Subject: Re: Goat-proof plants?
- From: A* L*
- Date: Sun, 26 Aug 2001 11:43:16 +0100
Any book describing Garrigue vegetation should be able to help. My
ex-wife keeps sheep and goats high in the Corbieres which has a very
diverse high altitude flora (ie too far up the mountains for Rosemary
which grows abundantly at the bottom) In spite of her marauding beasts,
the wild flowers in the hills are extraordinary and can be divided into
those which smell unpleasant or are unpalatable to goats eg Lavandula
latifolia, Buxus sp, Santolina, Knautias, various brooms, tree heathers
(genus unknown) and Cistus, those that are low growing and can survive
being chomped down to ground level (eg Salvias, thymes and Teucriums)
which I suspect may help the plants' survival by reducing transpiration
during the hot summers, those which are spiny which includes a
phenomenal number of different thistles and Euphorbias and finally those
which are just plain toxic like Colchicums. Curiously Lysimachia
ephemera thrives in the swampy bits, possibly because the animals don't
like getting their feet wet(?)
However, her goat population has been on the farm for many centuries
and learnt what can be eaten and what can not, in much the same way as
the British sheep flocks did before this crazy government had them all
slaughtered. This means firstly that Turkish goats may have completely
different tastes to French goats and secondly they may not learn to
avoid undesirable plants until several generations have passed, British
shepherds would say a hundred generations so be prepared for some
casualties amongst both goats and plants before things have settled down
Good luck
Anthony
