BOONOORONG: weeding

For various reasons, much of our time is spent out of the gully - the main reason is that most of the works, whether it be weeding or planting, occurs on other areas of the property. In the "modified" areas which were logged or clear felled in the past. The gully in contrast, is essentially remnant so weeding is the only requirement. We also limit access to the gully to minimise disturbance and to avoid phytophthora and other pathogen contamination (http://www.dse.vic.gov.au/plants-and-animals/invasive-species/invasive-diseases-phytophthora-cinnamomi ).

On a few occasions throughout the year, we do enter the gully - negotiating it's full length from the Swamp Paperbark (Melaleauca ericifolia) and Tea Tree (Leptosprurmum lanigerum) scrub, past the Rough Tree Fern (Cyathea australis) forests and the patch of Mutton-Wood (Rapanea howittiana) and giant Black-Woods (Acacia melanoxylon), through to where the tributory merges with Wallymerong Creek (Main Creek). Our reason for entering the gully on this occasion was to hand-weed "forget-me-nots" and any pasture grasses that may have emerged since our last sorte'.

The "forget-me-nots" were a real problem when we first purchased the property. In May. we would start at the top/start of the gully, hand-weeding the seedlings. Every weekend and any other spare moment between May and October was spent pulling them out. We would stop in October when the seeds set - due to the "sticky" feature of the seed, we effectively became vectors. So rather than distribute the seed, we'd leave the gully in October and wait until the following year to re-commence. It took ten (10) years before we completed the full length of the gully in a single year.

Notably, this year took us only two (2) days to traverse both sides of the gully and complete our "forget-me-not" weeding regime for the year. Next year will be the proverbial "walk in the park".

On the recent sorte' we took the camera with us to record some images.

They're attached for your interest.