On Sunday the 27th May, the Tarrangower Cactus Control Group (TCCG) launched their season of 'attack' on the noxious weed Wheel Cactus. President Lee Mead gave a brief overview of...
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Thanks to ongoing funding from Mount Alexander Shire Council, the Tarrangower Cactus Control Group has been able to provide free loans of injector kits to many local landholders over the...
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Congratulations to the Tarrangower Cactus Control Group ‘cactus warriors’ who entered another fantastic float in the annual Maldon Easter Parade, and won the ‘Best Community Entry’ award – again! This year’s entry was an amazing model of a crow (the major culprit for spreading wheel cactus seeds) which was accompanied…
This excellent example of before- and after-injection treatment of a Wheel Cactus infestation was at a property in Waterson’s Road. (Photos courtesy of D. Gibson) It may seem difficult to believe sometimes, but the Wheel Cactus invasion can be defeated. This is thanks to many volunteers and landowners, contractors and…
Wheel Cactus seeds are most commonly spread by crows (Australian Ravens) eating the luscious red fruit and later flying to a nearby tree to digest and excrete the seeds. So, the plants very easily spread from property to property, to parks and native bush, with no regard to fence lines…
Everyone who’s tried killing Wheel Cactus agrees; it’s very therapeutic! Say goodbye to the winter blues and release all your tensions. There’s something rather satisfying gained from jabbing the injector into the pads of these noxious weeds, and very meditative wandering amongst the picturesque surroundings. Combined with the sheer pleasure…
Several members of the Tarrangower Cactus Control Group trekked down to Government House last Friday because the group and Ian Grenda were both finalists in the Victorian Landcare Awards for 2017. We were very impressed by the stunning building and surrounds, and very excited just to be there. But we…
Any of the many different cacti species have the potential to escape from an urban garden and cause major environmental destruction, as Wheel Cactus (Opuntia robusta) has done in our region. Vectors such as birds and foxes can easily transport seeds from a garden to local bushland or farm. Often…
The Tarrangower Cactus Control Group has recently completed a project aimed at increasing awareness and knowledge about Wheel Cactus. One of the valuable outcomes from this project is the construction a new map showing the distribution of Wheel Cactus infestations in Victoria. The ever enthusiastic, young, local environmentalist Max…
Cactus Warriors Ian and Lee hanging one of the new fence signs You should soon spot some new eye-catching signs when driving around the Maldon district. These have been created by the ‘cactus warriors’ thanks to funding from the Norman Wettenhall Foundation. We’re now distributing the signs to local Landcare groups for members to hang…
Cactus Warriors at our 2017 Field Day Launch. Photo thanks to Andrew Leckie Thanks very much to the all the ‘Cactus Warrior’ volunteers who support our “War on Wheel Cactus”. We really appreciate all the hours of hard work you contribute to our campaign. Together we have killed many thousands of Wheel…
The Tarrangower Cactus Control Group continues to ‘wage war on Wheel Cactus’. We’re very pleased that Darren Fuzzard, Mt. Alexander Shire’s new CEO, will be cutting the ribbon for the launch of our 2017 season of Community Field Days, on Sunday 30th April at 10:30am. Thanks to our sponsors and…
Sometimes it may seem difficult to believe, but the Wheel Cactus invasion can be stopped! Thanks to many volunteers and landowners, contractors and work crews, all helping to destroy this noxious weed, many of our roadsides, parks and properties are currently free of Wheel Cactus and looking fabulous. An example…
We (the Tarrangower Cactus Control Group) have been told that the seeds from Wheel Cactus remain viable for at least 20 years, hence can lie dormant in the soil for many years before germinating into a new plant. If we want to win the battle against this noxious weed, it’s…
The most common way that the noxious weed Wheel Cactus spreads is by birds. They love to eat the fleshy, red fruit (each containing hundreds of seeds) then fly off to sit and digest their meal. However, they have no sense of fence lines and boundaries, and often fly off…
