We have to be very careful about introducing "foreign" plants and animals into environments into which they didn't originate.
This morning as I was walking my dogs, I was "bombed" by a pigeon. Fortunately I was wearing a baseball hat, and it's soaking. But our windows and public benches are covered with these droppings. Now, the pigeons that are all over this country are really German Rock Doves which were brought to to NYC by an immigrant in the 19th century to make the new country more like his native Rhineland. But without predators, the pigeons took over. We now have some Red Hawks in the city which are doing some work, but mostly they go after rats and rodents. And then there's the story of Mr. Starling and his birds, and the Alianthus - aka,"the tree that grows in Brooklyn" brought to this country from China and grows anywhere it can, and the list goes on. So be careful when ya plant stuff, guys! The road to invasive foreign plants is paved with "it seemed like a good idea at the time." Everbest, Adam Honigman Volunteer, Clinton Community Garden > Subj: Re: [cg] Japanese Knotweed > Date: 5/12/04 10:42:57 AM Eastern Daylight Time > From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Sent from the Internet > > > > Thanks Adam, > > I found some more sites using google. It seems we don't have too many > choices. One site suggested a three-fold approach: 1)cover the invested > area with (plastic)tarps (for young growth); 2) cut to 2" length and > treat with "roundup" or similar herbicide; 3) just keep cutting it > back, and manually dig out roots and runners, treating new shoots with > roundup. > > One of our gardeners immediately protested, saying that she's adamantly > opposed to using roundup as it stays in the ground a long time. (maybe > we'll elect her to wield the sickle every 2 weeks!) > > If you hear of any other ideas, please pass them along. Thanks, > > jp duncan
