Invasion of the Invasive Species!

I guess anyone one who moves into a house with a lot of history feels like an intruder and an interloper at some point.  We've certainly had those moments here at TOPH.  There was that a-ha moment last year when we decided to clear a trail through the woods in a direction we thought was logical, only to find we were clearing exactly where a well-travelled path/road had clearly been years before (The Road More Traveled, October 2011).

And then there was this Spring, when I truly started making plans for landscaping and gardening for next year and then all of these random plants started popping up around the property -- day lilies deep in the woods in the shade behind an old barn foundation, a sea of violets naturalized into the front lawn and a perfect six-by-six square of chives in the corner of an old, overgrown pasture.  I will not be the first endeavor to make this property more beautiful, edible and sustainable.  I guess it's easy to forget that.

There are also times when you feel like you are "bonding" with an old house.  Particularly when protecting it from invaders.  Last August, when I looked around the basement and considered vacuuming away all the cob webs, I stopped and realized that those spiders were serving a purpose (Clean Dirt & Spider Detente, August 2011). They were lying in wait for wood-iverous boring insects as they attempted to lay eggs in our structural beams and/or emerge after hatching to go propagate.  I refrained and the important work of our eight-legged housemates continued.

In this small section of what used to be the lower field: Norway Maple, Common Buckthorn, Japanese Knotweed, Garlic Mustard.  Elsewhere on the property: Oriental Bittersweet, Blunt-leafed Privet, Showy Bush Honeysuckle and Multiflora Rose.

But there's nothing like a common enemy to build a kinship between house and her steward.  TOPH is facing a threat by several invaders at the moment.  And we are stepping up to defend her (and the future of any successful, responsible landscaping plans!)

TOPH is besieged by invasive plant species. Last year, I would look into the scrub-woods and just sort of know it was going to take a while to get everything healthy and tamed and back in shape.  But, I really had no idea..

Last Fall, I happened to walk through the Stratham Town Hall on the way to the Library (same building) with the kids.  There was a poster on the wall -- a collage of identifying photos, really -- depicting all the invasive plant species to be on the lookout for in Rockingham County.  Let's just say that it caught my eye because I recognized more than half. (The creator of the poster, Doug Cygan, also created this handy PDF with identifying pics and a description of habits, threats and eradication techniques.)

Our list is long and our methods many (see PDF for recommended approaches), but the ONE invader on this list that is truly scary (to me) is the Japanese Knotweed.  If only I knew what I had earlier!  Last year, we had two patches, about 10'x20' each. One was at the head of the driveway along the fence of the dog run by the garage and the old well.  I saw it everyday -- just assumed it was some kind of elderberry or bunch berry weed that I'd get to when I had time...the other patch is down in the woods where (I think) the leach field is. Both are places where the previous owners would have had fill sand brought in over the last couple of years, so I am guessing that was the source.

The spread since last year is INSANE.  It spreads by seed (millions of them), rhizome (long tendrils between plants just under the surface of the sand/soil) and every little bit that breaks off or gets mowed or cut can root!  We unknowingly let it spread last year by all of the above methods.  It's particularly hard to kill.  I drenched it in hot saline one week this Spring.  No result.  I doused it in hot vinegar solution the next week.  No result.  On a roadside where you have a workable area, you can cut it at the base in May-June and cover it with heavy black plastic (for a YEAR), but the stubs can be sharp (like bamboo) and the rhizomes are sneaky -- any daylight peeping through it's all for naught.

In the UK, this "weed" has gone viral.  There are now zoning policies in place there that make developers responsible for removing it (at huge expense) before land can be developed.  And, if you have it at your house, you have to put money in escrow to treat it over time before you can sell. These policies are rooted in the potential for structural damage to foundations where the root balls impede.  Yes, it's that evil.

So, against all my better judgement, and with a sincere felling of defeat, we resorted to a chemical treatment solution today. And it's going to take several applications as various phases emerege.  I will NOT name the treatment here, as the brand name and manufacturer are my greatest corporate nemesis.  Grrr.

I am not feeling victorious.  But I do hope we have won some small degree of appreciation from TOPH.  And, for the record, my compost is WAY on the other side of the property from "the areas" in question.  And no food will be grown in those areas for as long as I know better...  I'm doing the best that I can with this decision, folks...  Sigh.