Seed nursery, and our test area for the clearing process:
- Remove Honeysuckle and Privet to the roots (we did not use herbicide in this area, but we did have a Bobcat driver help to remove the deep roots. Will use herbicide on future roots where this deep removal is not realistic.
- Allow seedbed to grow for 2 more years, planting mature Natives and using Cosmos, Zinnias and Native Clearweed to kill-back the invasive ground cover. (Seed bed will continue to grow for 5+ years, but I waited 3 years before planting new seed and mature Natives.)
- Continue Annually: Spot spray with post-emergent in early spring. Pull Garlic Mustard.
- Avoid pulling new weeds where Native seeds have been planted. Pulling will damage the new seed roots.
- Manually weed during growing season.
- Likely will have another 3-4 years of early Spring Garlic Mustard, Creeeping Charlie, Lawn Grass and other groundcover. But every year is far less, and the roots are very shallow.
Before:
I did love the feeling of the lush green area, and it took a mighty leap of faith (and some mourning,) to clear it. But it wasn’t good for the pollinators or animals. Non-Natives may be palatable, but they do not offer the nutrients that our local species need, nor do they allow Native plants to thrive.
With that in mind, and most importantly, we will need an area of tall Native grass cover to this are to restore the protective aspects that animals did depend on.
