1. PEOPLE (VOLUNTEERS)
   
   
• We had 10 volunteers in the morning and 5 in the afternoon


2. SUPPORT
   
   
• THINGS WE GOT
  
  
• Ken Wyatt took pictures for the Newspaper
  
  
• Porta Potty was provided for all work days.
  
  
• Lunch was Dominoe's Pizza
  
  


• THINGS WE STILL NEED
  
  
• Strawberry hoes
  
  
• $350 in cash dontations or in kind (lunches)
  
  
• Volunteers!
  
  


3. PROGRESS
   
   
• We removed weeds from both sides of forest road 211 for 0.2 miles beginning at the west end of the project and working east.
  
  
• Only 0.8 miles to go!
  
  
• We have 20 people signed up for the 2nd work day (September 25th)
  
  


4. THINGS WE LEARNED
   
   
• The ground had become hard due to lack of rain. Broad head garden hoes did not penetrate the ground nearly as well as when the ground was moist from rain.
  
  
• Hoes did not work well when used in a chopping action. They worked better at scraping across the ground and slicing under roots.
  
  
• 3 and 4 tined rakes were good at loosening up soil and pulling out plants that could be snagged by the roots. They also were good at loosening the plant's grip on the soil so that they could be pulled out by hand.
  
  
• Strawberry hoes (mattock head on one side, two flat tines on the other coupled with a long handle) worked very well. The mattock dug out small clumps of grasses when used in a near horizontal slicing action. The tines were good at loosening dirt around subbornly rooted weeds.
  
  
• KnicKnic is tough to remove because it has a robust root system almost 1/4 - 1/2 inch in diameter. KnicKnic is not easliy removed without a robust mattock
  
  
• Yucca has a similarly robust root system. In a fire the plant may burn away but the root survives. Unless the Yucca is a small new plant they are not easily removed without a robust mattock.
  
  
• Indian tobacco(?), a tall, slender, broad leaf plant can be pulled out with the roots if you loosen the soil with a 4 tined rake or the 2 tined part of a strawberry hoe first.
  
  
• Hoes are not indestructable. We had a number "heads" work loose and come out of their handles during the day. Some skill is involved in using hoes effectively in these conditions.
  
  
• Pizza, however delicious, makes one sluggish in the first hours after lunch.
  
  

last revised 9.20.04