The site is situated on the Cornish (western) bank of the River Tamar, radiating from Grid Ref: 452690.  See map for detail 

 

Himalayan Balsam

In the early years of management the Himalayan Balsam was largely restricted to the ditches around the lower fields adjacent the river. Afriqnmun and I pulled them out for a number of years and that seemed to limit their growth and may have stopped their expansion.

However after quite a number of years of neglect and a large focus on Giant Hogweed and more recently Japanese Knotweed too, the Himalayan Balsam has had unfettered room to expand and is now by far the greatest problem. It probably always was but due to its colourful character and lack of invasive root/rhizomes, was deemed less of an issue compared to Giant Hogweed and Japanese Knotweed. That was probably a mistake.

Whilst removing the giant hogweed in the willow carr Plots A to E, I have also pulled up all the Himalayn Balsam in Plot C. Although there were initially hundreds, this year I only found 3.

Steve and I spent a couple of weeks in July and August (2007) clearing between the inner drain and up the flat in the far field. Sadly in late August we noticed an area missed in July and left a small patch.

Spent the best part of a two weeks clearing the western 80 metres of marsh.

Previously I have only notice Himalyan Balsam at the inner edge some 30 x 30 metres. This year there was a swathe running some extra 50 west and the full depth of the marsh in places. As they were noticed late and I was off for a few days due to an accident, many poped their seeds. Finished 8th September. Must start early August 2008.

The current situation.

The following is a brief account of the some of the work carried out. Some gets fogotten and some doesn't get logged.

Over the last three years Steve Morris and I have been containing its expansion as it grows into an adjacent field at the northern end of the property.

In order to assess the success of Himalayan Balsam removal I've defined five areas where the pulls will be counted.

More casual ideas and updates can be found via the ELF Web Log

Yearly Record

The following update replaces a previous table that was to detail the number of plants removed from each of the sites detailed in the legend below.

It became clear soon that the number was very large and as I extended the removal by cutting in a 'new' area, I stopped the counting and hence have removed the table.

The work in 2010

• June: Cleared willow car in main SSSI marsh (about 100)
• June 24th: Site 1: Started clearing strip between eastern fen meadow and upper field. So far the density is hugely reduced from last year, but then it is earlier. Will have to see what pokes its head above the braken and brambles over the next 4 to five weeks.
• June 25th: Site 1: First clearance of top level.
• June 26th: Site 1: First clearance slope in south corner
• July 1st: Site 1: First clearance slope in mid south half

The work in 2009

• 4th Sept: Cleared sites 3,4,5 and 6 (3 bags)
• Site 1 (28th July to 7th Aug) Tuai and I are cleared mostly by slashing.

The work in 2008

• All balsam was pulled from sites 2,3,4 and 5
• Site 1 wasn't finished due to illnesses of both Steve and mine. This was a pity as it had been well done in previous years.
• A 'new' area (6) was cut. I used a long handled hook and am intersested to see if there will be any difference this year.

Go to: Map / Legend

 

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Legend
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Map Legend

Site 1 This is the area Steve and I have been working on which is the boundary between the upper and lower levels of the 'far fields'. More specifically it is the area on the west or upper side of the drainage channel that defines the border. It is important as it is a checking measure to try and control and stop it spreading to the upper field. We have been pulling the Himalayan Balsam there for three years.

Site 2 Is the willow copse and represents the western most spread of Himalayan Balsam. I have been pulling here for 7 years as I removed the Giant Hogweed in that area.

Site 3 This is the area east of the above bund which will be an extending area.

Site 4 This is the area west of the bund to the boat. Again I have been pulling here to stop  the Himalayan Balsam from spreading downstream. It has in the past included all plants to the west, on the top and the eastern bank of the bund.

Site 5  Is a large area west of the north south bund that I only noticed this year. It took a week to remove the plants and was done very late so I expect this year to be just as bad. It obviously was a spread that hadn't been noticed, hence the more detailed and divided area just upstream (Sites 3 and 4) which previously had been a single project.

Site 6  Is the riverside bund stretching from the boat eastward. As an unplanned addition it is some 60 meters long. The work included pulling all plants on the riverside of the bund and slashing the top and some 2 or 3 meters on the landward side. This isan important project as it leads to huge increase in area covered if sustained.

Last Updated 1st July 2010