Sunshine Coast bushcare volunteer invents weapon for war against asparagus fern

Sunshine Coast bushcare volunteer invents weapon for war against asparagus fern
  • PublishedMarch 25, 2024

Ron Gooch’s battle with the invasive asparagus fern began when he moved to Peregian Beach, on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast, in 1996.

“There’s a lot of bush between us and the beach and it was full of weeds,” Mr Gooch said.

“It became a passion to get rid of the weeds and asparagus was one of the major ones.”

Bright, tomato-like berries on a fern.
The basket asparagus fern is classed as a weed of national significance.(Supplied: Queensland government)

Mr Gooch and his fellow bushcare volunteers were using tools such as mattocks and saws to dig the weed out, but the process was slow and laborious.

Then Mr Gooch came up with an idea for a purpose-built power tool and the Asparagus Assassin was born.

With the help of the Noosa Men’s Shed, Mr Gooch created a prototype out of a modified hole saw and section of sewer pipe.

He said he saw immediate results — the tool removed the weeds up to four times faster than was previously possible.

“It just started to work beautifully and I’ve taken out thousands of them with it,” Mr Gooch said.

The tool caught the attention of a local environment group that organised a grant to make five more of them for bushcare groups in the Noosa region.

A fern in a pot sitting at the corner of a brick house.
The basket asparagus fern was a popular pot plant that spread from backyards into bushland.(Supplied: Queensland government)

From pot plant to pest

The basket asparagus fern was a popular decorative house plant before it became a pest.

“It used to win awards for how beautiful it was,” Mr Gooch said.

Botanist Patricia Lu-Irving said it was now a weed of national significance, a classification given to species that have a particularly detrimental impact on the natural environment.

“You may have seen foxtail ferns as pot plants, possibly on your nanna’s patio,” she said.

“It’s escaped from cultivation and is now smothering native vegetation.”

Dr Lu-Irving said there were about 170 species of asparagus.

“One of them is the one you buy as a vegetable in the supermarket, and there are around a dozen others which have become weeds,” she said.

A dark-haired woman in a laboratory examines a twig with pine leaves.
Dr Patricia Lu-Irving says most invasive species start out as garden plants.(Supplied: Botanic Gardens of Sydney)

‘Garden responsibly’

The basket asparagus fern, also known as ground asparagus, is the best-known and most widespread of the weed variety.

“You’ll find it all down the east coast of Australia,” Dr Lu-Irving said. 

“It’s actually very common to see around towns and cities, which makes sense given its history as an escaped, cultivated plant.

“Something like 70 per cent of our weeds started in gardens, and not just asparagus, but other weeds of national significance, like lantana or privet.”

She said it was important for gardeners to select plants that had been risk assessed for their weed potential.

“We can do a bit more to garden responsibly and make sure that we’re not responsible for the next terrible weed introduction,” Dr Lu-Irving said.

A pile of hairy-looking, dull-coloured roots in a bushy area.
A pile of roots removed using the Asparagus Assassin.(ABC Sunshine Coast: Bree Dwyer)

Root of the problem

One of the main challenges in fighting the asparagus fern lies beneath the soil.

“The weedy asparagus species have extensive underground root systems, so they can be quite difficult to control,” Dr Lu-Irving said.

“Unless you get out everything under the ground, the weeds will come back.”

The best way to stop the spread of the weed is by removing its crown.

A man in high-vis bends over as he removes a weed from the ground using a tool resembling a drill.
Mr Gooch’s Asparagus Assassin makes it easier to remove the weed’s entire crown.(ABC Sunshine Coast: Bree Dwyer)

“It’s got a crown which can be a substantial distance underneath ground level,” Mr Gooch said.

“That was the idea of the Asparagus Assassin — it will drill down and take out the crown out.”

Mr Gooch said he did not plan on monetising his tool because he did not want to take on the manufacturing process.

But he hopes bushcare groups across Australia will use his idea to battle weeds in their regions.

SOURCE: ABCNEWS

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