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Re: weeds

I am not a restorationist.  I am just a landowner that is trying to create a 
natural wildlife haven in the midst of farmland and subdivisions.

Of our 14 acres, about 3 are kept mowed as lawn.  This includes the garden 
area.  I would guess about 4 acres is old fencerows and areas that we have 
designated no-mow.  We have not planted trees, although I will throw seeds 
into the areas and I have seen a lot of Eastern red cedar, oak and maple 
seedlings.  

The remaining acres are the old hay fields.  I have been broadcast seeding 
for the past 2 years.  Here and there I spy Black-eyed Susan, clasping 
coneflower, Plains coreopsis, Indian blanket, Mexican hat, purple coneflower, 
showy primrose.  There are many other wildflowers that I am not responsible 
for.  

As I identify them and learn whether they are native or not I then decide 
what to do about them.   Some I rip out and some I leave.  My decision is 
completely arbitrary.  Aesthetics is my sole criterion.  Unless they are an 
aggressive foreign invasive.  Then of course they get the old heave ho.  I am 
not after political prairie purity.  I just want something that looks nice, 
is mostly native, and provides a haven for wildlife.

I have not even begun to learn about the grasses.  This year we mowed several 
times before the end of April to discourage the cool season grasses.  It 
seems to have been a success.  Here in Tennessee it gets hot early and the 
fields now look good with grasses topping out at about 3 -4 feet tall with 
wildflowers peeping here and there.

The plants that I have been concentrating on for eradication include:  

all thistle - I know that birds like the seed but they can go to the neighbors
ragweed - native but a serious allergen
Japanese honeysuckle - serious problem in my fencerows, eating little trees
Chinese privet
multiflora rose
brambles that get in my way, others I leave for the birds
Johnson grass

Like oneota@ames.net I would like to know where to expend my limited energies 
to get the most effective results.  I don't want to waste my time hunting 
down species that while not native are not harmful either.

If someone would take the weed list that oneota@ames.net provided in the 
original post and put them in order of priority it would be greatly 
appreciated.

Carmen



 

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