Alien Invasion - I want my pond back !

[Eric Salop]

Thanks for all the suggestions on keeping on top of the Alien in the future. I will follow some of these up as soon as I have the bulk of the stuff out of the pond.

 

[Eric Salop]

Alien on Tow

For a week or two I have been thinking of how to get a good grip on the Crassula to tow it away from the far bank and out of the deep water. When I tried using a grapple hook, it tore through the plant before it would move. Too much force concentrated in one small spot.

That got me thinking, the plant itself is very tough (I can stand on the surface without falling through), so if I could spread the force over a large enough area, I could use that to my advantage. So this was the plan ...

First take an 8' log to the far side of the pond and poke it underneath the Crassula. Easier said than done, but I managed to get it under eventually. Then use a pointed post to punch a hole through the weed and pass a length of rope around. Repeat again so that both ends of the timber have rope wrapped around.

Next, rope back to tractor and steadily pull.

Hydrostatic drive certainly makes pulling a lot more controlled, however after what I thought was some initial movement, things came to a standstill, with me not daring to pull any harder for fear of my weak link breaking. I stood on the brakes, keeping tension for another minute or so before the rope sagged again, then I eased forward an inch or two at a time, before climbing out to have a better look.

It was working !

It was a great feeling to see clear water open up again under the oak tree. Now all I have to do is work out the best way to get it all out of the water.

 

[SPYDERLK]

Alien on Tow

It was a great feeling to see clear water open up again under the oak tree. Now all I have to do is work out the best way to get it all out of the water.

Any way you could roll it up like a rug?

 

[Wagtail]

HUZZAH!!!!

 

[wngsprd]

Great news! It's like Continental Drift on a small scale.

 

[rd_macgregor]

In the western US, they clear brush from rangelands by dragging a very heavy chain between two bulldozers. I wonder if a long loop of cable around the weeds and anchored between two tractors (or anchored at one end and pulled by a tractor at the other) would work to clear the pond all in one go...or many the mass is too great for the pulling capacity/traction of a tractor??

 

[Kyle_in_Tex]

You just need to figure out how to take smaller bites. Or is it bytes over there?

 

[jclaudii]

Looking good! Perhaps you can get some cable or chain at a scrap yard or power company.

 

[Redneck in training]

Would the plant exhaust all the nutrients it needs at some point and starve itself to death? When you remove crasula from the pond make sure that the dead plants or mineralized remnants don't get recycled back there.

 

[gharms]

Nice looking Iseki. Looks almost exactly like my MF 1648. Of course, my MF was built by Iseki!! Wow, quite some progress on fighting the alien!!!!

 

[Eric Salop]

Extracting the Alien

My son came over for the weekend and we spent a few hours together dragging the Alien out of the pond. He went to pick up a piece by hand and was surprised that it was so heavy. Not a problem with the tractor loader, only issue is getting it up on the edge of the bank to be able to then grab it out. When you get lucky, it sometimes comes out in a big sheet.

We shifted a fair amount with a tow rope and grapple - him on the tractor and me in the water. Not the most efficient technique, but at least it gave him chance to get used to the new tractor.

Once he went home, I thought I would try and move the rest in bigger chunks by cutting in slits, poking an 8' length of 2 by 6 timber underneath and then heaving it out. Crassula won that one as the wood broke on the first pull.

So today I scaled up and spent a couple of hours with a big old 8" diameter post on the drag line. Takes more effort in the pond to sink the post under the surface, however the results can be quite satisfying.

Good job I don't pay myself by the hour, this is taking quite some time, but I'm definitely getting there.

 

[Eric Salop]

Extracting the Alien

My son came over for the weekend and we spent a few hours together dragging the Alien out of the pond. He went to pick up a piece by hand and was surprised that it was so heavy. Not a problem with the tractor loader, only issue is getting it up on the edge of the bank to be able to then grab it out. When you get lucky, it sometimes comes out in a big sheet.

We shifted a fair amount with a tow rope and grapple - him on the tractor and me in the water. Not the most efficient technique, but at least it gave him chance to get used to the new tractor.

Once he went home, I thought I would try and move the rest in bigger chunks by cutting in slits, poking an 8' length of 2 by 6 timber underneath and then heaving it out. Crassula won that one as the wood broke on the first pull.

So today I scaled up and spent a couple of hours with a big old 8" diameter post on the drag line. Takes more effort in the pond to sink the post under the surface, however the results are quite satisfying.

Good job I don't pay myself by the hour, this is taking quite some time, but I'm definitely getting there.

 

[Luke'sScreenName]

Does look satisfying!

 

[KubotainNH]

Huge difference and worth the time spent.

 

[MossRoad]

WOW! That's one tough weed. If you should get most of it out, what are your plans to keep it out?

 

[clemsonfor]

WOW look at that pile!! Sure your small pond wont evaporate with that plant gone now!!! haha

you need a fish or something that eats it airation, or some chemical to put in the water. You cant do this every few years!!

 

[clemsonfor]

WOW look at that pile!! Sure your small pond wont evaporate with that plant gone now!!! haha

you need a fish or something that eats it airation, or some chemical to put in the water. You cant do this every few years!!

 

[clemsonfor]

Its like three or four years after the software swap!!!! WHY are we still getting double posts!! Mine did it and so did the OP just like 2 posts above mine???

 

[the old grind]

IIRC wind/waves and/or water flow impede the spread somewhat. IMO keeping nothing higher than cattails within 50 meters or more on the side toward prevailing winds could to keep the surface going pretty well. I suggest (also from experience) that pond width matters more than depth on the 'downwind' side.

Wind powered 'bubblers' might also help if strategically placed. Gettin' into bucks there & not sure what would be enough of that 'assist' either. Understanding creep amount by month or season, and having done bigger batches, might suggest a schedule of touching up certain 'pockets', but Eric & Co would have to maintain access along with veg control of any border/buffer areas.

I might add that my best weed/brush control (~1/4 of >2k ft of shoreline) is with a 15 gal sprayer in a small boat with a wand and just glypho. I spare all cattails, and critters seem not to mind ... any more than when I'm trapping after those CT-munching muskrats. :banghead:

I'm really impressed with Eric's tractor (nice color, too ), the tricks learned, and the progress so far. :thumbsup: (... and now he can make some 'scary' compost (might sprout?) for folks he doesn't like. :devil

btw, clemsonfor, if you catch a double post within a few minutes go to the 'edit post' tab. IIRC there are two places to click 'delete post', one at lower right, and one at upper left. Seems I click both, and the bottom one first. Then one click to save or whatever gits 'er done. This is for PCs for sure. As for internet on a handheld, well I couldn't say, but you'd have my condolences ... tog

 

[Eric Salop]

Does look satisfying!

It sure is ! Shame you don't live nearer, or you could have come with that grapple and see how big a grin it produces - probably better than your DPF regen.

WOW! That's one tough weed. If you should get most of it out, what are your plans to keep it out?

My main hope for keeping it clear in the future is to cut down the rest of the willow trees and let the wind and waves keep everything on the move.

IIRC wind/waves and/or water flow impede the spread somewhat. IMO keeping nothing higher than cattails within 50 meters or more on the side toward prevailing winds could to keep the surface going pretty well. I suggest (also from experience) that pond width matters more than depth on the 'downwind' side.

Wind powered 'bubblers' might also help if strategically placed. Gettin' into bucks there & not sure what would be enough of that 'assist' either. Understanding creep amount by month or season, and having done bigger batches, might suggest a schedule of touching up certain 'pockets', but Eric & Co would have to maintain access along with veg control of any border/buffer areas.

I might add that my best weed/brush control (~1/4 of >2k ft of shoreline) is with a 15 gal sprayer in a small boat with a wand and just glypho. I spare all cattails, and critters seem not to mind ... any more than when I'm trapping after those CT-munching muskrats. :banghead:

I'm really impressed with Eric's tractor (nice color, too ), the tricks learned, and the progress so far. :thumbsup: (... and now he can make some 'scary' compost (might sprout?) for folks he doesn't like. :devil

Thanks, all good advice, I will be keeping a close eye on this Crassula in future and try not to let it creep back from the margins.
I am intrigued by your mention of wind powered "bubblers" and would like to see one. Is that a pipe below the surface, blowing up bubbles of air ?