The current state of the Water Hyacinth population is a kind of hibernation. The plants are still floating around like wreckage from a crash site. Some of the plants are clearly nibbled by critters and bugs and have no future. Few have any live stems that rise above the water right now. What we have are the floating bulbs that are waiting till the weather grows warmer to start their merry reproduction again.
It seems to me that scooping up these smaller bits of debris and composting them now, while they are lightweight and loose, might delay the growing season for the plant and spare us the onslaught we had last summer. Why give them a chance to establish their colonies?
For this task I propose floating composting barges. The mobile floats with composting bins mounted in the center could be filled manually and parked in the sun. As the weeds dehydrate they become light and easy to relocate onto a land based compost pile with a pitchfork. This method is similar to what is done now in marinas except instead of the weeds getting dumped in a mid-waterway tule island where the plants have a chance to re-establish and launch back into the river, the weeds are contained in the composting box, cooking down in the sun.
Right now is a chance for action when the plants are at their weakest. I’ve even heard of a removal method that is like a big vacuum cleaner and sucks the plants out. Which agency has that thingamajiggy and how can we borrow or rent it?
