Plantations of Balsam

We continued the clearance of Himalayan Balsam from the banks of the Frome with Stroud Valleys Project. This time we met at the cricket club to work backwards toward Ebley meadows which we cleared a few weeks back.

This area was pretty densely packed with balsam, both next to the bank and the adjoining open space. It wasn’t a public footpath, so there wasn’t even a well trodden path through it. The plants were over 6 foot and mostly in flower, so this is one of the last opportunities this season before they set seed.

There were tall nettles and bramble intertwined, so it was slow going to start from the edge and make a dent. But once we broke into the dense areas, we were able to pull out handfuls of ten at a time.

There were a lot of young trees planted a while back by the wildlife trust which were exposed as we worked our way through.

We stopped mid morning as usual for tea, and Mike produced the most delicious rhubarb and custard cake. This was every bit as good as it sounds and more.

There was a lot of giant hogweed on the site, which sadly seems a regular feature on this stretch of river. It was in flower, but not yet seed, so we took a photo to report the location and then cut the stems with a long pole to prevent seed from forming.

By mid afternoon we had removed thousands of plants from the open area and the river bank. We could see some further upstream, but hopefully this part won’t be so bad next year.