Sunday, April 22, 2012

Weeding the Mojave Desert


We have a terrible problem with annual weeds in our neighborhood.  The cheatgrass, annual bromes and filaree have been marching south from Idaho at a steady pace, turning our mojave desert shrubs into fuel ladders.

These annual grasses proliferate in the winter rains, just like on the golden rolling hills of California.  At this time of year--again just like California--the grasses and filaree dry out, leaving dense fine fuels in the spaces between the shrubs and under the shrubs.  In addition, many of the shrubs put their energy into growing up and out while the lower branches die.  Dried grasses, dead branches, a spark, and the wildfire begins.

Unfortunately, mojave plants are not adapted to wildfires.  The joshua trees, blackbrush and barrel cactus will die when burned, leaving more room for annual weeds.  Over time, frequent wildfires may wipe out a lot of the mojave species, as well as the desert tortoise. (See photos below).

So I weed--a lot--and the result has been very rewarding.  The native perennial grasses are coming back, the shrubs are filling into open spaces, and the native flowers, such as desert marigold and purple phacelia, are becoming plentiful.


Then we found out that we have gophers.  We may have to trap them, although I hate doing that.  On the other hand, I don't want my plants to die.  The gophers killed some Mormon tea plants already. The landscaping guys that water the desert willows and mesquite on the lots around ours pointed out a gopher eating up one of our desert willow roots and put a trap there for us. 

After reading my weeding timetable, you may find the reason I am so behind on writing this blog:
Late February--began weeding while teaching 2 large online classes, while wearing my ankle brace
March--weeded about 2 hours per day, weather and time permitting, while finishing up the classes and beginning another one, wearing an ankle support.
April--continued weeding without any ankle support.  Last week I weeded for 4 hours and sunburnt my lower back.  It's peeling now.  How exciting.