Noxious and invasive weeds in region

Gunnedah Garden Club’s guest speaker in August was NW regional weeds officer Lee Amidy, who has been working for the Gunnedah Shire Council for 33 years.

He spoke about noxious and invasive weeds in the area and showed specimens, so the members could recognise them.

Parthenium Weed has been the top problem in this area for the past 4 years.

It was accidentally introduced into Australia from the US during World War II and was spread locally by tailings from Queensland.

It ruins hectares of land, causes asthma and dermatitis and is poisonous to livestock.

Alligator Weed is thought to have come from the ballast water of South American ships that came to the port of Newcastle.

It grows not only on the surface of water, but spreads to the land too and can double its size in 40 days.

There are also many weeds classified as low priority such as Black Berry Nightshade which is toxic to horses, Cleaver Weed, Prickly Pear, the poisonous Mother of Millions, Coolatai Grass that displaces native vegetation, and Clover. Even Canola can be a problem if it spreads beyond the paddock, as it has been developed to be herbicide resistant.

It takes consistent work to keep on top of weeds, to identify, control and eradicate them, but it takes many man hours and money – both, unfortunately what people are short of.

Lee keeps busy as he is not only responsible for such a large area of land, but his role is also to educate people on weed management.

The club learnt that a weed can be any plant that is growing where it should not be and it is important to never dispose of any plant or garden rubbish in the wild, as it can spread and become an invasive plant.

Gunnedah Garden Club welcomed two new women to its meetings last month – Beryl Morgan and Fran Dobson.

There is a lot on the calendar for the next few months, with invitations to other garden club functions in Narrabri, Quirindi, Werris Creek and Dungowan. The club organising an upcoming trip.

In November, members will be visiting Braifeld, Quirindi way, including lunch at Bob’s Shed, followed by popping into a very unique shop before returning home.