The City of Santa Fe Parks and Open Spaces Department on Monday showed off its latest tool to control weeds while protecting the environment.
The Foamstream® Weed Machine is a non-toxic weed mitigation tool that combines air, heated water, and a biodegradable concentrate of plant-based oils and sugars to create a coating of foam to cover weeds and kill them.
The machine and accessories cost less than $50 thousand and saves the cost of using toxic chemicals that can get into the groundwater.
Parks and Open Space Division Director Melissa McDonald says this will be a pilot project to see how well the machine controls the weeds.
“We’re looking at different types of weeds and how they react to it,” she said. “Victor (Lucero) being our Integrated Pest Manager is tracking all of the reactions the weeds are having and the success rates. We are going to come together with a report and give it to the Governing Body.”
IPM and program manager Victor Lucero says they will treat each site every two weeks.
A metal lance distributes a foam coating allowing heat around 200-degrees Fahrenheit to kill unwanted vegetation by retaining the heat over them for a few seconds.
The unit will enhance the Parks Division’s existing portfolio of weed mitigation and control strategies and can be used in many of Santa Fe's outdoor spaces where weeds can proliferate, including ball field fence lines and infield surfaces, hardscapes, decorative gravel, decomposed granite beds, dog parks, golf course bunkers, and traffic medians.
Signs will be posted at the areas being treated that explains how the machines work and that they do not use chemical pesticides.
The Foamstream machine is a product of British-based company Weedingtech. The company website says Foamstream machines can be used safely around animals and are already used across the tourism industry in places such as zoos, as well as in public parks where people walk their dogs.