Banking on Balsam

Back to Ebley Mill today with Stroud Valleys Project to continue with the Himalayan Balsam clearing along the river Frome. Quite a big team today, so we were able to make a lot of progress along the bank.

The easiest technique is to pull by hand, however in dense patches of scrub Mike had the brush cutter which was very useful to get access to the clumps in the middle. The weather was pretty good all day, but it did get hotter for the last part of the afternoon.

Last week we discovered a number of Giant Hogweed in the area, and noticed today that the seed heads were already forming.

It’s unlikely that the control teams will be able to get to this area in time, so we took the decision to cut the seed heads ourselves.

There are around 7,000 seeds on a single plant, so allowing them to spread would be very bad news for the immediate environment.

Mike had a long pole with a cutting blade so we were able to safely reach the top to remove.

I’m not sure how long the seeds last for after, but we left them on the ground after cutting (you’re not allowed to move this plant without a licence). Hopefully they weren’t fully mature anyway, and they certainly won’t be gaining strength any more.