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

Here’s what we’ve got for you today:

• In-depth dive into recharge areas

• Managing Onion Weed, a menace to the garden

• What we’ve been learning

🔎 Looking at the Landscape

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

In edition 13, we discussed recharge areas and what they are and what they mean for our landscape. Following that edition, Heidi responded, asking for more information on the recharge process and what to do with the information. I thought that would be a good follow-up for this edition. So let’s dive in and discuss what recharge areas mean for us as landholders, specifically their relationship with steps as a whole.

What is a recharge area?

A quick refresher on what a “recharge area” is - they are the areas of the landscape where water intake happens more readily, often featuring soil with a different sedimentary base and, as a result, different plants growing when compared to the surrounding landscape.

Where do we find recharge areas?

The main area of a landscape where recharge occurs is on a step.

A step is an area of the landscape where the gradient flattens and then steepens again. These features were originally formed as something caused the water to slow and drop the sediment it was carrying, building up the land behind it and creating that flatter part, which then caused the water to slow down and infiltrate at that point.

Steps can be found on both slopes and flats. On flats, they are most often found at the site of wetlands or areas where wetlands once were before human intervention.

The other areas where recharge occurs apart from steps are on our higher flow lines or runnels on a floodplain setting where the soil is highly porous, allowing for a high water intake, as discussed in Edition 13.

How does the recharge process happen, and why is it so important?

Our steps and runnels that we discussed above, the shape of the land and vegetation growing in these areas, allowed for the water moving during rain events and wet periods to be slowed enough for water to begin infiltrating into the soil. And to add to that, the more porous soil found in these locations allowed large volumes of water to infiltrate into the soil where it was protected from evaporation and allowed for plants to directly access it with their roots, creating the ideal growing conditions for even more vegetation to grow.

This started a cyclical process that allowed for water to be managed by the plants continually, infiltrate into the ground, and build the step to become larger and larger over time as plants continued building soil around it. So, really, this process is much more than just a hydrological process; it is also the building of the landscape that we see around us today.

You can think of recharge areas as being like sponges; when they aren’t full, they sit ready and waiting for water to move into that area.

These sponges once ran across the breadth of our landscape, connecting the lower wet regions with the higher dry regions. It was this process that ensured our landscapes were always fully hydrated coming out of a wet period with a functioning and healthy hydrological system that could withstand the periods of dry that would naturally follow in future seasons, but now without these events taking place our landscapes are more fragile and more sensitive to the periods of dry that we face.

Our sponge in the low, wet areas becomes too wet in good seasons and then dries out, whilst the higher, drier areas only ever see the rain that falls there. We face an issue where the sponge is over-wet in some parts and too dry in others, which results in less productivity from those pieces of land and the creation of a dysfunctional landscape.

Where before this excess moisture from the wet areas would spread across the step and keep the ridges hydrated, getting moisture down into the deeper clays, which kept the whole landscape going for longer into the dry, as moisture kept being slowly fed through the landscape for an extended period of time.

It was this process that ensured our landscapes were always fully hydrated coming out of a wet period with a functioning and healthy hydrological system that could withstand periods of dry that would naturally follow through in the future seasons, but now without these events taking place our landscapes are more fragile and more sensitive to the periods of dry that we face. By focusing on getting these crucial processes happening once more, we can really start to increase our resilience while increasing our overall productivity.

How can we start to get our recharge process functioning again?

To get the recharge process functioning again, we need to focus on reconnecting our landscape pieces back together like a puzzle and creating a landscape that is ready and waiting to manage and store the water that we receive as rain.

We need to focus on spreading the excess water out of our low areas and getting it back onto the ridges again, like it once did. This ensures our entire landscape is getting hydrated in a rain event, and we are getting moisture to a higher point where it can be stored in the ground and is slowly trickled down the system long after the rain has passed - it is all about starting a process.

We can look to do this by;

• Building level contours on step that connect our low, wet areas with the high, dry areas

• Build our organic matter and soil carbon levels so that more water can be held in the top level of our soil before running off

• Increase our plant diversity and density so that they can manage the water we receive, acting like mini contours all across the landscape and building our soil to complete the step we discussed above

By looking to tick off these three things, we can really push forward with our ability to manage water and start recharging our landscapes like they once did, better preparing us for the hard years and making the most of the good years.

🌳 Learning from Plants

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

Onion Weed

Common Names: Angled Onion, Three-Cornered Leek, Three-Cornered Garlic, Triangle Onion, Wild Garlic

Scientific Name: Allium triquetrum

Where in the Succession: Late Succession Accumulator

Thanks to Sally for sending in this month’s plant species, Onion Weed.

Onion Weed is a bulbous perennial species from the Allium family (our Onion and Garlic family). It grows to around 30 to 40 cm in height and is capable of reproducing via seed or vegetative reproduction, thanks to its bulbs. Native to parts of the Mediterranean region and other areas of southern Europe, it now finds itself spread around many regions globally, offering its preferred growing conditions of mild, wet winters and warm, dry summers, being a winter-active species - this finds it growing most commonly in the southern half of Australia.

What is it telling me about my landscape?

Onion Weed is a late succession accumulator species.

Where will I find Onion Weed growing, and why is it growing there?

Onion Weed is a soft, fast-growing species that loves moist growing environments with good quality soil. In the instance that Sally shared with us, it is growing prolifically in her garden amongst her Mondo grass and other species.

In many cases, Onion Weed is very opportunistic, taking advantage of sights that provide it with its ideal growing conditions and without the need for it to have to compete with other species. We will often find it growing in sites with the following conditions;

• High soil moisture

• Recent disturbance of areas with little competition

• Shaded or partially shaded sites

• Good quality soil with higher organic matter levels

How can we manage Onion Weed?

💚 Minimise our soil disturbance. We want to limit the opportunities for Onion Weed to start its growth by minimising how much we disturb the soil and keeping good ground cover, we limit its ability to get sunlight and start its growing cycle. Additionally, if using a tool like cultivation, there is the risk of fragmenting bulbs already present in the soil and increasing their spread.

⬆️ Increase our organic matter levels. By increasing our organic matter levels and looking to have a good cover of material over the ground, it will help suppress the germination and growth of Onion Weed - this method will be especially useful in a garden setting. Increasing our organic matter levels will also help in creating favourable conditions for our more favoured plant species.

🚜 Use mechanical intervention. Onion Weed can be mown or slashed to remove its vegetative growth and open up the opportunity for other species to grow and out-compete it. This is also advantageous to complete when the plant is flowering, as it will have used a large amount of its resources to produce the flower and seed, and therefore be at its weakest point to try and recover from such intervention.

Keep in mind, though, that using this method, the bulb will still be present, and the Onion Weed will be capable of coming back.

🌱 Promote the growth of more competitive, desirable species. By looking to incorporate new species into a site or promoting the growth of ones that are already there, that you deem more desirable. We want to look to improve the environment for their growth and use them to suppress and outcompete the Onion Weed, thereby pushing your succession forward and creating the change that you desire.

🐄 Use livestock intervention. Livestock can be used to stimulate change and create opportunities for other species, much like mechanical intervention, by using their impact, but please note that their edibility is limited, and it is known to be capable of tainting the flavour of both meat and milk in livestock.

How to make the most of your Onion Weed

🪨 As a Soil Indicator: Compacted soils with poor drainage and aeration, low calcium levels, they generally indicate a balanced soil chemical makeup to support its growth, suggesting dominance is more strongly linked to soil structure and landscape management.

🐮 Livestock: There is little evidence of its significance as a forage for livestock, albeit they will eat it in some situations, but like I mentioned above, it is known that the Allium family is capable of tainting the flavour of meat and milk when consumed in larger quantities by livestock.

💊 Medicinal: Onion Weed has no specific medicinal uses for itself; however, being a member of the Allium family, it is likely that some of their known qualities, such as cancer protection, reduction of cholesterol levels, antibiotic effects and antimicrobial properties, have been passed along.

It is known to have high sulphur levels, which is an important mineral for a healthy diet, and something that many lack.

🍽️ Consumption: All parts (leaves, bulbs and flowers) of the plant are edible, best eaten raw and often likened most to spring onions. It is a very versatile plant for wild harvesting. Diego Bonetto shares some excellent uses for them in this blog, as does The Urban Nanna here, and Alby Hailes here, leaving you with plenty of options to look at.

Back from the Brink and Beyond the Brink are Back!

We're excited to announce that Peter Andrews's two books, Back from the Brink and Beyond the Brink, are back in print.

📚 What We’ve Been Learning

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

Clarkson’s Farm Season 4: We’ve just finished watching the newest season of Clarkson’s Farm. If you haven’t already watched this season or the show at all, it is well worth watching. It is full of laughs and has a strong message for supporting our farmers. I think Jeremy has done an excellent job of sending out a strong message to the masses.

Restoring predators, restoring ecosystems: An interesting article sharing the results of a research study that looked into the impact of the return of wolves into Yellowstone National Park in the U.S and the massive impact that one small change to the food web had on the entire ecosystem. There have been a lot of recent studies and documentaries on this specific case study and others that are well worth looking into if of interest.

What Does an Ecological Civilization Look Like?: This article delves into how aligning human activities with ecological principles can benefit our communities and the planet. I found some of the concepts intriguing, particularly around the connection between regenerative agriculture, sustainable economic systems, and nature-inspired urban planning. It's sparked my curiosity, and I'm keen to look further into these ideas and grow my thoughts on the topic. If you're interested in exploring these concepts, it could be a thought-provoking read for you, too!

Smart Farmer Survives Drought, Loses Vital Market!: In this video, Tim Thompson visits TPT graduate Charlie Arnott and explores some of the water management strategies Charlie has put in place since attending our course, along with his approaches to livestock and grazing management for handling dry times. The episode also highlights the growing issue of abattoir closures and how changes in the food supply chain are impacting smaller producers. Well worth a look.

The world's oldest river has a big problem: This short film captures the beauty and deep history of Australia’s outback, following Beau Miles as he runs 100 km along the ancient Finke River. Alongside stunning scenery, it highlights how climate change and distant human choices now threaten even the world’s oldest river. I appreciate videos like this that share these important stories with a wider audience

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