Organic Herbicide: The photograph does not illustrate the aftermath
of a windstorm or missile attack. It shows one of the weapons used in our war
against weeds.
Our home is recycled and was moved from a property about 100 kilometres south
of Yallaroo. The house is at least 60 years old and the corrugated iron roof
showed its age. About 18 months ago the roof was replaced.
What does one do with a small mountain of ancient corrugated iron? Inspiration
struck and we have started to put sheets of iron on the ground where we are
going to establish gardens. After six weeks or so any vegetation under the
iron has shriveled to nothing. The iron starves weeds of light and during the
day, when the iron heats up also burns the weeds. When the iron is removed we
have a bare area to plant. This method of weed control is environmentally
friendly because it reduces the use of chemical herbicides.
In summer red-backed spiders sometimes take up
residence under the iron. We always wear gloves when moving iron and because
the spiders are very sluggish pose no threat to our safety. The presence of a
few spiders is a small price to pay for the effectiveness of our organic
herbicide.