Composting from acres gathered up always sounds easy TomM.
I have family and neighbors who try this.
2X the engine power to suck up, bag and gather it up.
Only Half the ground gets mowed between too-wet to mow raining periods.
NEVER enough “brown” leaf available to balance out all of that grasses wet “green” for a good enriching compost.
So they ALL have corner of property piles that took lots of time, equipment and fuel to watch rot, unused. Put on gardens NOT brown-greens balanced kills nutrients up taking as they have all learned the hard ways.
In “town” neighbors across fence lines into the county dumping their yard grasses have three times killed many goats!
Since the late 1990’s yard grass seeds sold are all inoculated with a New Zealand derived symbiotic root fungus. This fungus floods the grass sap with an insect killing chemical. Grass plant supplies the fungus with sun energy and ground nutrients in it’s saps. Fungus protects the grasses from insect attacks.
The fungus chemical release causes internal circulatory failures in the bugs.
Goats? Their ears, noses, hoofs and tails circulatory fail, die and rot. They die of toxemia shock.
Once more Urban solutions suck bad applied out to rural situations
Rural . . . get the job done. Move on to other needful things like you see with WayneK non-forb weeds mowing ganged-up mowed using diesel.
So he has the personal time and energy then left over to woodgas power where he wants to apply it.
Mowed-in on location IS mulching the growing ground back exactly where needed.
NOT Urbans raping-off, “concentrating” idealizing for the elites few benefits.
Ehh, it’s not so bad. First mowing of the season is always a little thick. And I do hate mowing, so it gets put off a bit. I will get a small gasifier on there eventually.
Having raised cows in the past, it just tears me up to have to cut down a beautiful stand of clover and lush grass, instead of making it into milk, butter, and beef.
I really don’t miss mowing… at all. It’s a multi billion dollar industry that we were swindled in to believing it’s important and local laws put in place so one’s yard looks a certain way.
With all that said, I now live in the sticks. Our soil is rocks and clay. I disturbed a lot of ground and with rainit erodes. I want to plant something with a decent root system and can feed the wild animals or some type of flowering plants. Any suggestions?
I might suggest sheep instead. My ancestors said that a sheep eats the grass closer to the ground. Not good if you live on sandy soil.
Personally I think it was an excuse so they had a reason to shoot sheepherders.
I would aim for white clover and some mix of lawn grass. Caraway will probably grow well in your soil conditions, and with it’s (edible) taproots, has great drought tolerance, but it does tend to spring up to seed in mid summer if not mowed frequently.
I started burying rotted wood in my garden last spring. It really turned my sand into soil. I also put the biochar in there but it goes through the chicken coop first. then we water with chicken coop soup. I hope someday something will grow here. Looking out the kitchen window I see one popular tree leafing out. Was a very short winter here.
Nice to see all the different spring preps under way. Maybe I should say seasonal preps considering this is now a global site. I enjoy them all.
Mowed the yard for the first time today. Yep put it off to long. Took twice as long. Also peas and radish made their appearance this week.
Wow. peas up already, you are an early bird. I’ll be running the Troy-bilt today turning under my cover crops (winter rye and wheat) and putting in potato sets, pea seeds and carrots. I do have watermelon (2 varieties), peppers (Cal Wonder, Jalapeño), tomatoes (Big boys, Bloody Butcher) and cucumber( Russian pickling, great for fresh or pickles) seedlings in pots under lights. Light frost this am.
Update noon thirty:
I just love this time of the year, look at that green! Winter wheat on left, winter rye in foreground. Potatoes will be in left patch, raspberry bed will be extended in the right bed.
Roof will be umm, uhhh, er, cough. Yes, it will be.
Nice big garden Pepe, how do you keep out the critters. I see no fence, I have one [chain link] and the rabbits still get through. My first pea popped up today, Zone 3A. Frost next two nights, at least. I have lettuce spinach, kale strawberries, garlic ,onions, asparagus,carrots and tons of strawberries in the garden. lots of others in a temp green house and under lights, be another month before the danger of frost is over here.
Well, there is good news, and bad news. I got called back to work. This is of course good for the finances, but bad for playtime. Ah well, still have the weekend.
Look like me and you both have been doing a little wood work the last few days . I had to replace my high porch or deer stand . This time I put a roof over it also. Hope to get the metal on it in the next week.
Working in high places and old age doesn’t mix well , my nerves are shot !! One wrong step and I have had a bad day
Hi Jim,
My potatoes are safe (I squash the potato bug eggs and the survivors as well) and the raspberries don’t seem to attract the birds. Nothing bothers the asparagus much, some bugs when it gets warmer. Finger squash them. I cover my strawberries with floating row cover. I fenced in my blueberries from rabbits/ deer. There are rabbits here, but I have had very little damage from them. My killer cat probably chases them off. I have found a couple small rabbits partially eaten. Darn, I love that cat! Then of course I dispatched 13 raccoons and some skunks last year. Did I mention the occasional venison on legs? They don’t seem eager to visit too often. We cover the grapes and Kiwi vines also. I do have some fencing also that I move around. All in all it hasn’t been bad. Been here 46 years and never used any chemical fertilizer. I do use a little rotenone, an organic pesticide… I’m pretty proud of my stewardship of my homestead. I have a dug well and we drink the water with out treatment except for an in line filter.
Pepe
Nice deer stand Wayne! Looks like you have enough room for both you and Lisa to lean over the side with a rifle. I wish I had even half the talent you have.
My nerves are shot just seeing how tall you have that ladder extended. I hate ladders, especially the one’s I have to crawl up over 10’. My feet need something solid to stand on and ladders don’t fit in that equation.
