Good morning, and welcome to the seventh edition of our monthly newsletter, Reading Landscapes.

Here’s what we’ve got for you today:

• One plant changing a landscape

• Prickly plants and what to do with them

• Where should I be putting trees?

• What we’ve been learning

🔎 Looking at the Landscape

Like us to discuss a photo of your landscape? Share it with us here. 

What do you notice about this slope in the image? Most people would probably go by and not pay much attention. But not once you've been to a Tarwyn Park Training event and learnt about Reading the Landscape.

Alan, a graduate of our course, shared in our community that after returning home from the course, he saw this scene and went through this image, discussing the big visual clues that it showed about that particular landscape.

In the centre of the image, we see darker green growth coming down the slope. But what’s most interesting is that at the top of each of these lines of dark green growth is a big, healthy blackberry bush. In the spots on either side where there is no dark green grass, there are no blackberry bushes either.

Why is that?

Well, the Blackberry is completing its role as an early succession accumulator. It influences the hydrology and fertility of the landscape below it and creates an environment whereby our higher-order or more preferred plant species can grow.

So how does a blackberry growing on top of a hill do that? Well, it is completing some very important processes;

• It's slowing down and managing the water, moving off that landscape, and not letting move off as fast as it may normally do

• It is diving down deep with its root and bringing up important minerals and nutrients

• Leaf drop and fruit drop adding fertility to the landscape

• Bringing in a large group of animals (insects, birds, rodents, snakes, pigs etc.) that are also adding fertility to that location

Processes like these not only add fertility and influence hydrology but also create mini-ecosystems at the top of a landscape that then feeds the system below, as shown in the image.

🌳 Learning from Plants

Have a plant you’d like to discuss? Share it with us here.

Variegated Thistle

Common Names: Variegated Thistle, Milk Thistle, St Mary's Thistle, Cabbage Thistle, Spotted Thistle

Scientific Name: Silybum marianum

Where in the Succession: Late Succession Accumulator

What is it telling me about my landscape?

Thank you to Sabine for sending in this month’s plant species.

Variegated Thistle is most often classed as an accumulator species (more on that later), tasked with the role of building our landscapes.

Where am I going to find Variegated Thistle growing, and why is it growing there?

Variegated Thistle is a fast-growing species that will quickly take up residence when given the opportunity.

It is largely found growing in the southern half of Australia and is commonly found around the world.

Variegated Thistle can be found across a range of growing environments, but most often it likes;

• Overgrazed pastures

• Bare ground or cultivated paddocks

• Hard, compacted ground

• Dry soils

• Excess nitrogen, fertile soils

Variegated Thistle is a great plant for these conditions, due to;

• Being less palatable to livestock, therefore protecting the landscape

• Big deep tap root system to break up the ground

• Large green surface area to counteract bare ground and get the small water cycle functioning to increase soil moisture and landscape health

Interestingly, the Variegated Thistle will also happily grow in soils high in nitrates, like stock camps. So, in this instance, it is acting partly like a Balancer species. In this growing situation, the plant's management will be slightly different as it is looking to complete a different role.

How can we manage Variegated Thistle?

Having looked at the physical characteristics of the Variegated Thistle, we know that the plant is trying to;

• Protect the ground in bare, cultivated or overgrazed landscapes

• Break up hard, compacted ground

• Build up soil organic matter

• And in some cases, balance the Carbon:Nitrogen ratio while managing grazing pressure by increasing its toxicity to livestock

So, how can we step in and complete these roles for the thistle?

🐂 Change our grazing practices. An increasing presence of Variegated Thistle can be caused by overgrazing of livestock, and the landscape is coming in to change those practices by growing a plant that is less desirable to those animals; it is using the Variegated Thistle as its protector. Knowing that we could look to change our grazing patterns, make our paddocks smaller, increase our density, and increase the paddocks' recovery time before being grazed again,

⬆️ Increase soil organic matter. This can be done through increased plant growth or by importing external sources of organic matter onto the farm.

🌱 Increase green surface area. Incorporate more green, growing plants to increase plant diversity and improve the small water cycle of the landscape.

⚒️ Break soil compaction. Thistle's deep tap root system is ideal for breaking up soil compaction and, in many cases, is the most efficient and affordable option for the farmer. Other options would be incorporating other more desirable tap-rooted species or strategically using tools to help break through compacted layers without compromising soil health.

In many cases, it is best to try and leave thistles like the Variegated Thistle to complete their role. They often have a short succession, especially when dominating a paddock, and will complete their role fast.

How to make the most of your Variegated Thistle

🪨 As a Soil Indicator: High Nitrogen, High Potassium, Low Humus, Compacted Soils, Presence of hard pans.

Potential to indicate the presence of heavy metals such as lead, copper, manganese and zinc, all of which Variegated Thistle can tolerate.

🐮 Livestock: Variegated Thistle can be consumed by livestock. Studies have looked into its ability to improve milk yields and meat quality when incorporated into an animal’s diet¹ .

The endosperm of Variegated Thistle has recorded protein levels of around 19%, suggesting its potential as a quality protein source² .

Palatability is increased when the plant is cut and wilted; however, care must be taken as the plant's nitrate content is much higher in this state, leading to the potential poisoning of livestock, especially cattle.

💊 Medicinal: Variegated Thistle has a long history of medicinal benefits reaching as far back as Dioscorides in AD 50, using the plant as a liver tonic, with it traditionally being used to treat³ ;

• Hepatitis

• Fatty Liver

• Liver damage

More research into the plant has also investigated its potential in a range of areas, such as⁴ ;

• Helping to prevent age-related decline in brain function

• Protect against bone loss

• Improve cancer treatments

Interestingly, the Variegated Thistle is also the most powerful known cure for the consumption of the death-cap mushroom⁵ .

🍽️ Consumption: While Variegated Thistle is most commonly consumed by humans as an herbal supplement, it is also edible.

Pat Collins discusses using the roots like parsnips, heads like artichokes (as they're in the same family), young leaves and shoots, and finally, the stems can also be eaten raw or cooked³ .

🙋 Answering your Questions

Ask the Team! Share your question here, and we’ll answer it in a future newsletter.

💬 Simon Asks:

Where should I be incorporating trees into my landscape?

🎙️ Hamish’s Answer:

Great question, Simon. Trees form a very important part of our landscape.

We always recommend adding trees to the first part of a landscape: the Accumulation area or the highest part of the landscape. Up there, trees can build and collect fertility and feed the lower parts of the landscape over time.

Other areas are along the bottom side of contours and fence lines, and another option is to plant across paddocks to create a silvopasture type system.

One place in a landscape we generally try to keep trees away from is our flow paths, as trees are not very good at managing water (save a few select species), and we much prefer having grass species managing these areas.

📚 What We’ve Been Learning

A quick list of our favourite things we’ve been watching, reading, listening, and writing.

What's Happening Over the Fence Presentation #2 Myles Ballentine, Namgoori: TPT Graduate Myles Ballentine shares what he’s been up to on his property, Namgoori and the impact that his contouring has had.

Simple Marketing for Smart People is a book I just finished reading and thoroughly enjoyed. Even though many of us may not think we’re marketers, we all are, as when we share what we learn or the way we do things, we are marketing. If you think that sounds interesting, I’d recommend checking out the book - a short, quick read.

Deserts and Oasis are created side by side: Shane, a member of the TPT team, recently posted this video, which is full of interesting observations that we should all examine in our systems.

1  Milk Thistle (Silybum Marianum L.) as a Novel Multipurpose Crop for Agriculture in Marginal Environments: A Review

2  Milk Thistle Endosperm as an Alternative Protein Source for a Sustainable Food System (SFS)

3  The Wondrous World of Weeds by Pat Collins

4  New Therapeutic Potentials of Milk Thistle (Silybum marianum)

5  The Weed Forager’s Handbook by Adam Grubb & Annie Raser-Rowland

6  Trees for Shade