More Than a Simple Mow

An interior dike in the West Marsh before the first mow of the season (note broadleaf poison hemlock on left
and Phragmites on right and down the center).

Somehow, Memorial Day is already behind us and we're knocking on the door of June. June! Hard to believe, until you consider that kids are finishing (or finished with) school  . . . or until you look at the grass growing -- because you can literally watch it grow this time of year. With the regular cycles of rain and sunshine we've been experiencing, it's easy to feel like you need to mow your lawn every 3-4 days. In the marsh, we try to mow about four times per season, so each cut matters.

The "before" photo taken above illustrates the challenge at hand with routine dike maintenance -- especially if the levee is built such that the "crown" (top) is too narrow to safely navigate with a tractor and 4-5' mower deck (standard equipment on broader dikes).

Honestly, I would have welcomed the view above last year. This ~2,000 linear foot dike (~0.4 mi) serves as our southwestern property boundary, and it also served as the "last frontier" as we regained access to a property that had been largely left untouched for the two years before we took possession. As of last spring, it was the last area of the property where we had yet to re-establish walking -- much less driving -- access. The Phragmites was growing 10'+ high and so densely that I literally could not walk through it.

Our initial efforts to regain access began in April 2016 and involved ramming down the narrow and often winding dike with the MULE. With water on each side, I have to admit it was a bit touch-and-go. We then set fire to the previous year's growth to see what we were really up against and to expose any cavities or voids created by muskrats or groundhogs. (These holes are next to impossible to see with Phrag growing, and can be treacherous to a vehicle and a driver.)

These fires tend to burn hot, high (10-20'+), and fast. They are gratifying for the first week or two where the ground is black and barren and the newly emerging Phrag appears sparse and stunted. But the ash actually serves as a fertilizer and ultimately jump-starts unbelievably rapid and dense growth.

The upside was that we were able to make a good number of structural repairs to the dike and eliminate any woody growth. The bad news was the non-woody vegetation came back with such vengeance that we literally couldn't keep up with a mower last year. The other bad news was that the plants that had the competitive advantage to lay claim to the new real estate were good ol' Phragmites (never killed in the first place) and another invasive new to this story and apparently somewhat new to our area -- poison hemlock. More on that interesting invader to come . . .

This "after" photo taken late last week shows the results from a couple passes with a walk-behind brush mower and cleanup work with a Stihl weedwhip on steroids. 2000' of dike took two of us the better part of an entire day to clear.

P.S. If you are looking for the right tool for this kind of job, consider the Stihl FS110. I was reluctant to pay $1,000 or more for a bike-handle trimmer, so I opted for a slightly "lighter" option. It's still pretty darn beefy, and so far, so good. We purchased it late last summer. Coupled with their brush knife and a body harness, it gets a ton of work done without too much wear and tear on your body. It easily handles everything from Phragmites to bunch grasses, burdock to hemlock, and even smaller (<1") woody dogwoods and willows. Always be careful with this type of equipment. But used properly, they are just plain awesome!