We had a great volunteer work party on Sat. Tom, Frank, Francesca, Sasha, Julie, Bob, Ella, Christa, Webb, and Janella all worked to clear the south peak of the open space of invasive weeds and trash. We cleared two bags of trash and two extremely full and extremely heavy green bins of weeds. Thanks to M&M Market for providing coffee and Janella for doughnuts!
We spent most of our efforts removing dandelions and their relatives, which can crowd out the native grasses and wildflowers that we would like to encourage. The biggest culprit right now is prickly lettuce (also known as Lactuca serriola). It grows long prickly leaves on a straight, tall stalk. Summer rains and fog have really helped this weed take hold in the open space.
This is still abundant on the north and west slopes, where we did not have time to work on Sat. They have not started producing seed yet, so we still have a little time to work on them before they multiply! If you have a chance, remove a few of them on your next walk and put them in your green bin. Or if you’re really adventuresome you could try making a salad out of the leaves, but I hear they’re kind of bitter!