In early November, 2008 we had a successful neighborhood gathering to weed the hill but now that it is late December we need to get out there again. The winter rains are here and invigorating the oxalis. Oxalis is a clover-like, non-native plant that covers our land as soon as the winter rains begin. It can be pretty when the small, trumpet-shaped, yellow flowers bloom but if you allow it that much growth you may loose the battle as it is invasive and will soon take over. The removal of oxalis is quite a chore as any gardener from Northern California can attest. No one is exempt from its onslaught but vigilant gardeners can work to minimize its impact. We need to control this beast! Hand pulling is the only method of removal that has any lasting effect. You can never remove the bulb unless you dig every plant out but you can starve the bulb by removing as much of the plant as possible before it grows much.
The neighborhood skunks have also left their mark on the hill. They make a path from the nearby woods across our beloved hill to their favorite food source. The local animals, primarily skunks and feral cats, knock our mulch down the steep incline of our hill as they march across it. Don’t they see that we are trying to keep this area beautiful?
We are planning another work day after the New Year but the weeds will have quite a jump on us by then! The other issue that we are working on is the control of soil down the slope. At the edge of the stairs where the soil meets the concrete our earth is flowing over the barrier. We could build a small retaining wall or figure out which plants are best at retaining our soil. In the end I have a feeling that we will use a combination of the two techniques. We need to be sure that any new plants are drought-tolerant so we do not have to water them much during our 7 month dry season. (In May through September we total an average of less than 1 inch of rain. I also include April and October in our dry season.)
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