Buckthornicide
We purchased a house in Duluth with a nice wooded lot. It's not quite an acre... actually .9986 acre to be exact. We're about 60 square feet short of an acre, so I'm thinking of asking the neighbor if I can move the property line over about 2 1/2 inches (300 feet long) to get to the full acre. Okay, maybe it's fine the way it is.
Anyway, much of the property contains large poplar (or popple) trees, a few birches and some small-to-medium sized shrubs or bushes called buckthorn. Buckthorn is native to Eurasia, and has spread across the North American woods. Back in the 1800's, people started planting it for nice thick hedge-rows. There are also native varieties of buckthorn, but the alien invader looks like this:
Unfortunately, this plant is smarter than most plants, and because of this it can wipe out native species in a forest. Buckthorn is usually the first plant to sprout leaves in the spring, and last to lose them in the fall. Therefore, it has a longer growing season than other plants. Buckthorn produces purplish-black berries, which are consumed by mice, deer and birds. The berries have a laxative effect on the animals, which makes it more likely for the seeds to pass undigested and be spread around the forest. Buckthorn roots choke out the roots of other plants, and their thick leaves block the sun of their native competitors. The species can grow to 25 feet tall and have a trunk of up to 10 inches in diameter.
This plant is insidious. It grows out of the rocks. It re-sprouts when you cut it off at the base. It grows up right through the middle of evergreen trees and kills them off. It will take over nearly any terrain and grow in any soil. The DNR has classified it as a "noxious weed".
The soil in our yard is not good for growing much. The popple and birch like it, and we've got a few spruce. Of course, the buckthorn is spreading like wildfire. Or, it was, until we moved in. We had previous experience with buckthorn in St. Paul. There was an ornamental hedge of it growing between our driveway and the neighbor's driveway. People used to plant this stuff intentionally, but now it's illegal to sell it. We awakened one morning to see Larry and Lisa out there cutting this thing down. Well, we jumped in with four hands, four feet and lots of power tools. The chainsaw struggled against the twisted, knotty wood, but in the end we prevailed. No more nasty purple bird poop on the driveway. And, our wood chipper came in quite handy to finish the stuff off - thanks, Dad.
Here in Duluth, it's a different story. Buckthorn had been allowed to spread in the wooded areas without anyone keeping it in check. As I surveyed our property, I realized the extent of the infestation. Bush after bush... shrub after shrub... sprout after sprout... all buckthorn. Game on!
I retreated to my garage to retrieve the chainsaw. Now, I had purchased a new, more powerful one at Menard's, or "the mother ship". Not being a lumberjack by trade, I opted for the plug-in kind. Plenty of power without the smell. Armed with 200 feet of 14 gauge extension cord, I set out to eliminate my enemy. I cut, and cut, and cut. I cut, and cut, and cut.
Did I mention that this stuff is also quite dangerous to work around? There's a reason it's called buckTHORN. Wearing gloves is only part of the cautions one must use to destroy this stuff. More than once, I have grabbed a buckthorn limb and pulled, only to be skewered by one of it's thorns. Leg, arm, face... all good targets. Most plants just sob or scream when you cut them... this thing fights back.
I was done for the day. I had a feeling of triumph over my leafy green opponent. I packed up my gear, stacked the slain bushes for future burning, and stretched before surveying my "new woods". Shoot, I missed one. Two. Oh, for god's sake... they're everywhere! It's like when you buy a new car. Suddenly, you see them everywhere, and you swore they weren't out there before.
Since my first conquest, I have spent many sessions over the past year... some brief, some lengthy... battling this monster. There's even one stand in which neighbor kids had built a tree-house. It's almost the size of our garage. I think it's the queen. Scenes from the movie Aliens flash through my head. Killing the ground troops, battling the minions and leaving their leader for last. As I lower my death-saw in her direction, I scream, "Get away from her, you Bitch".
I have discovered that for most of this work, the chainsaw is overkill. Not only is it cumbersome, and more dangerous, but it also requires a long cord. Yes, even a plug-in kind is not a tool for the novice woodsperson. I learned the hard way that this thing can hurt you... badly. I was cutting up some smaller buckthorn branches, and grabbed on to the end of one to finish the cut. Even in death, this buckthorn was biting back at me. I'm not convinced that it wasn't. The chainsaw jumped and nicked my left hand at the base of my pinky. Even though I was wearing thick leather gloves, I could tell that something bad just happened. I dropped the saw, and grabbed my left hand. Everything was still attached, but I could feel the blood starting to flow. I said to my wife, "I cut myself, but I think I'm okay." I went into the house and removed the glove to find a nasty gash. Now, the chain on a chainsaw isn't designed to cut, but it's designed to remove. There was a flap of skin dangling there, so I slapped on a bandaid. And another. And, one more. I cleaned up my tools and figured I was done for the day, having just dodged a bullet.
Anyway, back to the tools. I now use a battery powered Makita sabre saw for my dirty work. I still wear hearing protection, even though the saw isn't quite as loud as the chainsaw. The wood-cutting blade on this thing is incredibly sharp, and the lack of a cord makes it much easier to march and crawl through the woods lopping off those black-berried bastards. I carry a spare battery on my belt... each one is good for about 10 minutes of continuous cutting. I still get a little bloody from time to time, but I'm learning how to side-step its attacks... mostly. There are so many, I just cut them and leave them to rot. I don't waste time burning them yet, when I can spend time killing them. I see buckthorn other places in town. I hope others are fighting the good fight for the forest. We've heard that the city might soon join in the battle and help land owners remove the parasite. I can't imagine what a huge task this will be, considering I'm just dealing with one little acre.
Now that winter is here, I can keep killing it while it sleeps.
Anyway, much of the property contains large poplar (or popple) trees, a few birches and some small-to-medium sized shrubs or bushes called buckthorn. Buckthorn is native to Eurasia, and has spread across the North American woods. Back in the 1800's, people started planting it for nice thick hedge-rows. There are also native varieties of buckthorn, but the alien invader looks like this:
Unfortunately, this plant is smarter than most plants, and because of this it can wipe out native species in a forest. Buckthorn is usually the first plant to sprout leaves in the spring, and last to lose them in the fall. Therefore, it has a longer growing season than other plants. Buckthorn produces purplish-black berries, which are consumed by mice, deer and birds. The berries have a laxative effect on the animals, which makes it more likely for the seeds to pass undigested and be spread around the forest. Buckthorn roots choke out the roots of other plants, and their thick leaves block the sun of their native competitors. The species can grow to 25 feet tall and have a trunk of up to 10 inches in diameter.
This plant is insidious. It grows out of the rocks. It re-sprouts when you cut it off at the base. It grows up right through the middle of evergreen trees and kills them off. It will take over nearly any terrain and grow in any soil. The DNR has classified it as a "noxious weed".
The soil in our yard is not good for growing much. The popple and birch like it, and we've got a few spruce. Of course, the buckthorn is spreading like wildfire. Or, it was, until we moved in. We had previous experience with buckthorn in St. Paul. There was an ornamental hedge of it growing between our driveway and the neighbor's driveway. People used to plant this stuff intentionally, but now it's illegal to sell it. We awakened one morning to see Larry and Lisa out there cutting this thing down. Well, we jumped in with four hands, four feet and lots of power tools. The chainsaw struggled against the twisted, knotty wood, but in the end we prevailed. No more nasty purple bird poop on the driveway. And, our wood chipper came in quite handy to finish the stuff off - thanks, Dad.
Here in Duluth, it's a different story. Buckthorn had been allowed to spread in the wooded areas without anyone keeping it in check. As I surveyed our property, I realized the extent of the infestation. Bush after bush... shrub after shrub... sprout after sprout... all buckthorn. Game on!
I retreated to my garage to retrieve the chainsaw. Now, I had purchased a new, more powerful one at Menard's, or "the mother ship". Not being a lumberjack by trade, I opted for the plug-in kind. Plenty of power without the smell. Armed with 200 feet of 14 gauge extension cord, I set out to eliminate my enemy. I cut, and cut, and cut. I cut, and cut, and cut.
Did I mention that this stuff is also quite dangerous to work around? There's a reason it's called buckTHORN. Wearing gloves is only part of the cautions one must use to destroy this stuff. More than once, I have grabbed a buckthorn limb and pulled, only to be skewered by one of it's thorns. Leg, arm, face... all good targets. Most plants just sob or scream when you cut them... this thing fights back.
I was done for the day. I had a feeling of triumph over my leafy green opponent. I packed up my gear, stacked the slain bushes for future burning, and stretched before surveying my "new woods". Shoot, I missed one. Two. Oh, for god's sake... they're everywhere! It's like when you buy a new car. Suddenly, you see them everywhere, and you swore they weren't out there before.
Since my first conquest, I have spent many sessions over the past year... some brief, some lengthy... battling this monster. There's even one stand in which neighbor kids had built a tree-house. It's almost the size of our garage. I think it's the queen. Scenes from the movie Aliens flash through my head. Killing the ground troops, battling the minions and leaving their leader for last. As I lower my death-saw in her direction, I scream, "Get away from her, you Bitch".
I have discovered that for most of this work, the chainsaw is overkill. Not only is it cumbersome, and more dangerous, but it also requires a long cord. Yes, even a plug-in kind is not a tool for the novice woodsperson. I learned the hard way that this thing can hurt you... badly. I was cutting up some smaller buckthorn branches, and grabbed on to the end of one to finish the cut. Even in death, this buckthorn was biting back at me. I'm not convinced that it wasn't. The chainsaw jumped and nicked my left hand at the base of my pinky. Even though I was wearing thick leather gloves, I could tell that something bad just happened. I dropped the saw, and grabbed my left hand. Everything was still attached, but I could feel the blood starting to flow. I said to my wife, "I cut myself, but I think I'm okay." I went into the house and removed the glove to find a nasty gash. Now, the chain on a chainsaw isn't designed to cut, but it's designed to remove. There was a flap of skin dangling there, so I slapped on a bandaid. And another. And, one more. I cleaned up my tools and figured I was done for the day, having just dodged a bullet.
Anyway, back to the tools. I now use a battery powered Makita sabre saw for my dirty work. I still wear hearing protection, even though the saw isn't quite as loud as the chainsaw. The wood-cutting blade on this thing is incredibly sharp, and the lack of a cord makes it much easier to march and crawl through the woods lopping off those black-berried bastards. I carry a spare battery on my belt... each one is good for about 10 minutes of continuous cutting. I still get a little bloody from time to time, but I'm learning how to side-step its attacks... mostly. There are so many, I just cut them and leave them to rot. I don't waste time burning them yet, when I can spend time killing them. I see buckthorn other places in town. I hope others are fighting the good fight for the forest. We've heard that the city might soon join in the battle and help land owners remove the parasite. I can't imagine what a huge task this will be, considering I'm just dealing with one little acre.
Now that winter is here, I can keep killing it while it sleeps.
posted by dewdew @ 12/11/2004 09:39:00 AM
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