|
 |
BroomBusting
2008
The
broom flowers are going to seed. Except for finishing
a few small areas here and there, we are finished
cutting for the year. We don't want to spread the
seeds, so we stop cutting. Please
notify us by email
of piles of broom that we may not know about. The
Ministry of Transportation is beginning to chip up
the piles in the RDN. Chipping allows the plant nutrients
to go back into the soil. Many
many many thanks to all those who helped and contributed
in so many ways.
Join
Broombusters! Information
will be posted soon if you choose to do so on-line.
Our yearly meeting will take place in July. All members
are invited. joanne@glasswing.com
Donations
are needed and used with gratitude. Click
here. THANK
YOU!
BroomBusting
2009 Plans - Join us! Get Your Community
Involved
Broombusters are already making plans for 2009. There
will be chapters of Broombuster on the mainland in
the Vancouver area. There are also those who have
expressed interest in Nanaimo, Victoria, Countenay,
others. All it takes in one committed person who can
help organize and attend a few community cuts in their
own area. The benefits of doing your broom campaign
under the umbrella of Broombusters are many: Broombusters
has already done the research, and will help organize
publicity, pick up or chip up, tools, etc. The Broombusters
website can be used by your community for posting
events. We are already working with the Ministry of
Transportation and several town governments. But most
of all, we encourage each other in what appears to
be a daunting task. Many hands make light work! Each
community is independent and has its own personal
character. Please email Joanne@glasswing.com.
|
Listen
to Broombusters Radio Spots
30 sec radio
spot: An interview with Captain Walter
Grant - the man who brought 3 Broom Seeds to Vancouver
Island in 1850
10 Second
Spot: Captain Walter Grant
10
Second Spot:
The Captain with guest appearance - and sombody.
Maybe a mermaid.
|
What can you do? Cut
broom whenever you can, or join community cuts. You can
also help with organization and publicity, make a donation
to fund Broombusters. We have tools for each community which
you can borrow to cut broom anywhere. Be a Two-Hour-per-year
Broom Walker, a Rover, a Road Guardian, or a Broom Brownie.
(See below.) Everyone is appreciated!
If you would like to help, please get in touch with us!
It's fun - and very important. Where would
you like to cut broom? How can we help you? Is your community
cutting broom? It's not hard to get started. Contact Broombusters:
joanne@glasswing.com. 250-752-4816
| Broombusters
is a very fun, dynamic, informal grassroots movement
inspiring individuals and communities to control the
spread of Scotch broom, and to reclaim and proclaim
"Broom Free" Areas. All you need to do to
join us is to cut down broom.
There is plenty to go around! However, if you would
like to learn more, and work with others, get in touch
with us. We look forward to hearing from you. |
Volunteers saving a young forest from
Broom. |
Broom plant
cut over a year ago. Nothing is growing.
Sometimes in a heavily infested area, large old
broom will put toxin in the soil.
So much for the theory "Broom is a nurse plant."
|
|
Springwood Middle School-Earth
Day 2008
|
HOW
TO CUT BROOM IN BLOOM:
It's easy. Use loppers. Or pruning saws. Cut to
the ground.
In
late spring, cut broom down to or below the ground level.
The plant has just put all of its energy into producing
flowers. If cut while in bloom, and exposed to summer’s
dry heat, the drought-stressed broom will usually die. Perhaps
kick a little dirt over the stem at ground level, to fool
the plant into thinking that it is in the shade. If you
see the plants resprouting later, cut again. Do not pull
up plants or disturb soil when soil is dry, as that encourages
the sprouting of new seeds.
• If you have to make a choice, go after single plants
& small infestation to prevent its spread.
• If the broom is huge, cut off as many of the branches
as you can. If the broom is small and not blooming, you
can return and cut it next year when it blooms. MOST IMPORTANT:
Don't let the broom go to seed! Cut before mid-June
See
Ministry of Forests and Range Publication on Broom: www.for.gov.bc.ca/hfp/publications/00204/
|
|
|
| What
can we do about Scotch Broom? |
| Cut
Broom in Bloom (April - Early June)
Before the flowers turn into seeds.
• ELIMINATE NEW INFESTATIONS. When you see
a light / new infestation of scotch broom, along the highway, paths
& fields, take the time to cut it down. At least cut down the
flowering branches. Aim to eliminate the spread. This is a "first
aid" strategy, but it is a great start.
• CUT DOWN ALL YELLOW FLOWERS so that they
can not turn into seeds. Each scotch broom plant can produce 2,000
to 3,500 seed pods - which burst open in July & August, shooting
seeds into adjacent soil. If you cut them while in bloom - no seeds!
•
Talk to neighbors and representatives. No one can solve
this problem alone. Make an effort to make your road or neighborhood
broom free. IT CAN BE DONE!
|
 |
Recommendations
from the BC Ministry of Environment, Lands and Parks:
“The First step of successful
management will be to prevent the establishment of invasive
species in (new areas.)”
“Scotch broom should be removed in spring before
its seed pods begin to open. Removal at this time will
stop the addition of new seeds to the soil and may have the
advantage of killing drought-stressed plants. Broom cut during
wetter months can survive to resprout next season. If the soil
is moist and stems are small, broom plants can be easily pulled
from the ground by hand. Larger plants should be cut below the
root crown.” |
|
| The
Broom Life Cycle - April
through June is the best time for broom removal.
To stop the spread of an invasive
species, we need to understand its life cycle. The roots of the
broom plant are weakest when it is flowering - so that is when we
want to cut it down. If we wait, and cut the broom
after the seed pods are brown and mature, the seed pods will explode
and spread all over (July - August.) Spreading the seeds will only
worsen the problem. Immature seed pods can ripen on a broom plant
can ripen even after the plant has been cut, which limits our cutting
season even more. Therefore, broom removal is recommended in April,
May and early June - when the flowers are in full bloom, and before
the seed pods have begun to form. The plants are also easy to see
and identify at that time.
If you want to cut broom after seed pods are formed or
forming, the branches will need to be burned - which we can't do
in the heat of summer. If you really want to remove broom after
it has seeded, pile it on top of itself, in an already infested
area, and then, burn in the fall, after some rains. The infested
area will need to be monitored for new plants. However, as long
as you alway cut yellow blooming broom each year, eventually you
will get rid of it. Stay with it!
If
cut during wet seasons (Dec - April), respouting is likely.
You can use a woody weed removal tool
. How to Cut Broom. |
Broombusters
2008 Community Action Plan.
Where do you fit in?
• Broom-Walkers. Members
of the 2-hours-a-year broombusting club.
It’s amazing what you can do in two hours. Just go walking
down any road that you love, with loppers in hand. Have fun, and
thank you for participating! Cut your own property, or the road
you live on, or help your neighbors.
• Community Cuts.
Between April 15 and June 8, there will be scheduled
community cuts, from Nanaimo to Port Alberni to Courtenay. Everyon
is welcome.
• Road Guardians.
Choose a little piece of a road - and keep it clear of
broom. Everything helps. If lots of people pick up pieces, whole
roads will become clear!
• Rovers.
Broom cutting is addictive. It’s easy, fun and
the rewards are immediate. And it’s amazing how much you
and some loppers can do in an hour or two. Huge bushes fall with
a single cut! So, avid Broombusters can become Rovers.
•
Broom Brownies.
What a great surprise to drive down a road see that
someone has been cutting broom there- and we'll never know who
it was! Blessings
on the Broom Brownies!
CUT ANYTIME ROADS - The Ministry
of Transportation and local towns choose roads that residents
can cut on anytime. After the cutting season (beginning of June),
the piles will be chipped or picked up. If you want this service,
it must be arranged with Broombusters before cutting! Let's see
if your town or Regional District is interested.
|
Broombusters Logo by George
Harm. Flowering photos from invasive.com. Thank you
Scotch
Broom costs Oregon $47 million
“Some people may look at the golden hillsides resulting
from Scotch broom and think it’s a pretty wildflower that
belongs here. That’s the farthest thing from the truth.
Scotch broom costs the state of Oregon about $47 million each
year by its impact on natural resources, particularly on timber
production.” Oregon Dept of Agriculture
|
|
