[APWG] Pour on the mulch on annual weeds now

[Craig Dremann - Redwood City Seed Company]

Dear Wayne, Ty, and All,

For those of us that contend with annual weeds, like California and our
1,000 species of exotics, and the Great Basin and their cheatgrass and
cereal grains, now is the time to pour on the grass straw mulch.

You can see a painting I did of my test plot, at
http://www.ecoseeds.com/art3.html, and the yellow color is the test plot
area.  I am using native Stipa (Nassella) straw mulch in one part of the
plot, and the local weed straw in another part.

If you cut the exotic grass straw in summer after the seeds have shed, it
makes a nice local straw, but you have to put it down 4-5x as thick as it
grows, because the exotic weed seedlings have a resistance to their own
straw allelochemicals.  We had to harvest a ways up the hill to get enough
exotic grass straw, to use in our plot.

If you have the ability to mow annual weeds, instead of mowing, it might
be better to cut and swath and then pile up a thick enough mass of the
weed straw, to inhibit the growth of the weeds.  Certain weeds are going
to need a thicker mulch than others.

For example the Italian thistle and yellow star thistle needs a certain
level, and the annual grasses may need twice or three times as thick
because of their seedling resistance to their own straw.

I am working towards 99.5% weed-seedling free test plots by December 31. 
I applied the first layer of straw a month ago, before the autumn rains
started any seedling germination.

About a week ago we got our first inch which gets weed seedlings to
germinate, and I went out yesterday and applied two more bales of Stipa
straw to cover whatever seedlings were growing through where the original
mulch was too thin.

In about 3 weeks, will go out and apply more certified weed-free mulch
wherever necessary.  This use of straw mulch works well in areas wherever
herbicides cannot be used, like in Endangered Species habitats, which are
getting weed-infested by annual grasses or other annual weeds.

For example, the Southern California K-rat areas in Riverside County with
the annual grass weeds, or Desert Tortoise habitat in the Mojave desert
where the Saharan mustard is swamping critical habitat.

Hundreds of millions have been spent in California alone to buy land for
the protection of Endangered Species, but almost nothing spent so far, to
address the weed problems that are overtaking those lands.   Straw mulch
may come to the rescue for those Endangered Species habitats.

Sincerely, Craig Dremann (650) 325-7333