Weeds, weeds, weeds … and rock-buns!
Spring time is weeding time for Cottesloe Coastcare volunteers and we have been hard at work.
Despite the very poor rain this past winter, the rain received was distributed over a long period and perhaps this is the reason that every weed species seems to be doing extra well this year!
A weeding session with the Grocery team from Coca-cola Amatil on October 2nd resulted in this huge haul of weeds. We must remove weeds with seeds from the site. You can see bags of dune onion weed seed heads. Here we have not removed the whole plant so not to cause erosion on a bare patch of sand, but by removing the seed heads we hope to eventually get rid of this weed once the native plants thrive.
Gang with truck
The second photo was taken today at Grant Marine Park. Lots more bags of seed bearing weedy grasses were removed by a great team of hand weeders.
My mother taught me to make rockbuns when I was very young – we used to make them in the wood stove, by the hundred at shearing time! These days I often make them for CCA working bees. My friend Sue likes them – as you can see!
Frauke, Julieanne, Jane, Sue, Marion and Jay
Tom, a student from John XX111 gave up his Sunday morning to lend a hand at the CCA project site on the Napier Street foredune. We planted 3000 seedlings here back in May and June this year and many of the plants are doing quite well, despite the very poor rains. Most of the plants around Tom were planted in the winter.
In the photo below you can see Asher hard at work – he was working with his mum Angela, and grandmother Frauke.
Tom weeding
Note the amazingly long tap root from the sea spinach seedling ( Tetragonia decumbens) no wonder this is such a successful weed! This photo was also taken on Sunday 7th October at our regular ‘First Sunday of the Month’ working bee at the Napier Street foredune site.
Thanks to everyone for all the great efforts with weed control, if we can keep the weed load down around young plants they have a much greater chance of surviving that first difficult summer in this harsh environment.
Robyn
Asher with sea spinach
