Just an update on the 3rd sweep.

Water levels have been very high since my return to the river and we have had to access the river banks from the road were possible.

There is yet again regrowth as we expected ! but they are fewer, smaller and wispy as appose to many high thick stemmed plants see photo below.

I am also starting to rethink my opinion that both hand weeding and strimming have the same effect especially during a wet summer.

Below is a picture of a plant that was hand weeded and the roots cut off and left high on a tussock but still managed to continue to grow and seed.In a dry summer this plant would have died however strimming would have mulched it up to prevent any regrowth.

A photo of my usual spot below again shows more regrowth and the need for a third sweep.

We have completed the 3rd sweep of the upper section and accessible parts of the lower section , once the river levels drop we can complete the work hopefully soon before they start to seed.

During my travels this summer my work has seemed to follow me around Balsam looks like an international problem, Yesterday i found alot in a park in Hamburg and earlier this summer i spotted more in Claude Monets garden  at Giverny. See below.

Note the big bank of it between the house and lily pond.

All the best with your Balsam bashing.

Tom.