The Picture Keeps Changing...

Click on image to enlarge.

Here is an updated image, showing the spread of garlic mustard at Anderson Flats.

We knew this site had a good deal of sparsely scattered garlic mustard  but it was not until we went out looking for outliers that we realized how much we had already underestimated this particular infestation. If you click on the image and enlarge it, you will see that there are two additional, very large zones not shown before. The light shaded areas, one over by the public access parking lot and the other sprawling in front of and into the to Salmon Run Campground, are sections we scouted and worked on over the last two days.

Both of these areas have large 'carpets' of first year seedlings (about one centimeter or less in size). None of these little plants will grow to set seed this year but many of them will survive into next year to produce our next 'crop' to harvest. Both areas have thousands of second year plants, all of which will throw seeds this year if left in the field.

Such is the way with invasive plants. Their growth and spread is explosive. The picture keeps changing. At some point, if we stand by and just watch it, we won't even recognize it anymore.

Have we made a difference?

To answer that question, do the math: so far we have removed 15 bags of garlic mustard plants from this location. Each bag holds maybe 300 to 500 plants. Generally, each living plant is capable of producing about three thousand seeds. What do you think? Have we made a difference? I'd love to hear your answer.