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Oh I meant mow/de-thatch in lieu of controlled burns. But yes, dethatching the planting area before seeding is also good.
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Aug 23, 2023 20:19
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ohhyeah posted:Nice house, you’re going to have tons of fun. It would be helpful if you could tell us: usda plant hardiness zone, state if you feel comfortable or general east coast/west coast, general orientation (the driveway is facing south yes?), and what the soil is like (clay, sand, rocky). Any invasives in there? I am in Asheville, North Carolina. Planting zone is 7a. It is a deciduous rainforest Downward slope of my house is west facing. Sorry I might have been unclear on that. Right now I don’t really get sun until about 11am, no morning light unfortunately. The soil is not great. I dug out garden beds that didn’t do great and part of that reason I think is that underneath the soil I bought is just clay. In the lower part where the garden bed was is just a collection of random grasses and weeds. It gets a lot more sun now that I’ve cut down the two trees that were hogging all the light. Also side note I never stopped to think about what to think getting face owned on the side of a mountain directly by the sun for 6 hours every day would do. The answer: my energy bill will be higher. Either way the vegetable garden next spring will likely be raised beds. Invasives are about all that came with it. Lots of English Ivey, Virginia snakeroot (unkillable), and Hostas. My gif the Hostas. I see people selling lovely hostas for like 50 dollars and I just want to tell them to come to my house with a spade. Those things are cute for about a day. No real drainage issues up top. It’s just damp all the time. Obviously doesn’t get a lot of sun but it definitely does now. Hopefully that little Japanese maple i planted starts doing something. FizFashizzle fucked around with this message at 13:48 on Aug 24, 2023 |
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Aug 24, 2023 13:10
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Couple of general thoughts: first NC has a ton of nurseries and knowledgeable people so you have a lot of local resources. Second, think about what relationship you want to have with the woods, because it will encroach on you if you let it. Some people like a real hard line between the yard and the woods, which is more work but means less insect pests and a tidier look. I prefer a softer border which is easier maintenance but messier. Of the three plants the English Ivy is truly invasive. You’ll want to manage that and cut it off of any trees it’s on. Hostas I’m surprised aren’t just getting eaten by deer.
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Aug 24, 2023 15:49
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Actually here would be my plan for this fall and next year: 1. Focus almost entirely on the raised garden beds because that sounds like what you’re really interested in. Everything else can wait except 2. Triage the English ivy (get it off any trees) and 3. Take a look at your woods in the fall and again in the spring and make some notes about what existing plants you find appealing. You might have trees or shrubs you want to cultivate and build around, or smaller ephemerals you want to preserve.
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Aug 24, 2023 16:03
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Also if you have any walnut trees nearby they may limit your vegetable garden potential.
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Aug 24, 2023 18:07
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It's long-term a bad bargain to buy cheap bulbs from Home Depot/Costco/et cetera. Bulbs need to be kept in controlled conditions; a dried-out bulb is going to give you poor results if any. Brent And Becky's Bulbs will sell you 50 of the very beautiful Scilla siberica for $18.00. That's enough to look beautiful in a swale in early Spring. Other small, mowable bulbs are Iris reticulata, grape hyacinth, and any kind of crocus. If you're willing to let the bulbs grow bigger, get any daffodil assortment. Myself, I'd splurge a bit on the Old House Gardens Woodland Sprites sampler, because you'll get striking, healthy flowers you don't see in every yards.
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Aug 24, 2023 19:05
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What’s a good source for wildflower mixes? I’d like to un-lawn some parts of my zone 6 small acreage
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Aug 24, 2023 19:20
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eddiewalker posted:What’s a good source for wildflower mixes? I’d like to un-lawn some parts of my zone 6 small acreage You county ag extension will have a list of in-state vendors who supply native seeds for your area.
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Aug 24, 2023 19:33
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Motronic posted:You county ag extension will have a list of in-state vendors who supply native seeds for your area. This is the right answer. Otherwise you run the risk of bringing in some other location's native seeds that will actually be invasive where you are.
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Aug 24, 2023 20:04
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Prairie moon is a reputable source as well, if you're in the midwest. Their mixes are usually midwest focused (since they're base in Minnesota), so depending on where in zone 6 you are it might be good. Wild ones (https://wildones.org/) is an organization that promotes native landscaping and at least for my local chapter they list nearby nurseries which you can contact. Looks like they're mostly active East of the rocky mountains though so if you're in that zone 6 then it's more sparse.
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Aug 24, 2023 22:19
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I hit a bunch of Tree of Heaven out back of my new house with the herbicide last Friday and I can already see them dying off back there, gonna wait three more weeks to really let the stuff get down into the root system then I'm gonna go to town with the chainsaw. I'm feeling pretty good about getting these things knocked out, just gotta stay vigilant.
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Aug 24, 2023 23:36
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100 HOGS AGREE posted:I hit a bunch of Tree of Heaven out back of my new house with the herbicide last Friday and I can already see them dying off back there, gonna wait three more weeks to really let the stuff get down into the root system then I'm gonna go to town with the chainsaw. I'm feeling pretty good about getting these things knocked out, just gotta stay vigilant. Stay vigilant for years after we took out a big one 3-4 years ago and are still getting new shoots
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Aug 25, 2023 01:48
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pseudanonymous posted:Stay vigilant for years after we took out a big one 3-4 years ago and are still getting new shoots Oh no, this is a person who doesn't need any advice as in another thread they assured me that the ag extension in my state was wrong. Or that my interpretation of the multiple classes I've taken with said extension was wrong based on their internet search on this very subject. Not really sure which, but it kinda doesn't matter. Somehow basil bark treatment prevents all of this. (USER WAS PUT ON PROBATION FOR THIS POST)
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Aug 25, 2023 01:56
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100 HOGS AGREE posted:I hit a bunch of Tree of Heaven out back of my new house with the herbicide last Friday and I can already see them dying off back there, gonna wait three more weeks to really let the stuff get down into the root system then I'm gonna go to town with the chainsaw. I'm feeling pretty good about getting these things knocked out, just gotta stay vigilant. How tall are they?
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Aug 25, 2023 10:34
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I've got a solid plan this fall to attack the Glossy Buckthorn in my woodline involving a chainsaw, clippers, and a dauber of glyphosphate. Tests I did last winter show 100% success in killing the main tree. The Buckthorn, lovely as it is, does make a nice barrier between my neighbor and I. Is there a thread favorite shrub or hedge I can plant that is deer resistant? I'm looking at Juniper or False Cypress to start but would like some variety. Zone 4.
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Aug 25, 2023 13:01
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All this talk of tree of heaven made me actually look it up, and immediately I was like "oh crap there's something that looks like of like that right on the border of my neighbor's yard". Went out there this morning and took some pictures. Google Lens thinks it's eastern black walnut and the more I look at tree of heaven identification information the more I think this is not ToH, but If someone here could double check that and reassure me I'd greatly appreciate it.   Edit: I really hope it's not, because this neighbor has these growing in at least 3 different places in his yard.
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Aug 25, 2023 14:05
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Looks more like a walnut but you can easily tell by the fruit or the fall color. Do they have green balls (walnut) or papery seed clusters (tree of heaven)?
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Aug 25, 2023 14:29
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That's not Tree of Heaven, the leaves have a little bump or two at the base that has a little like... nodule at the end. And the leaves have smooth edges not serrated ones. This is the source I've been using on what to do about these things, a lot of info and photos here. Not sure why I was told this was wrong, I've seen several other sources that match this info. https://extension.psu.edu/tree-of-heaven  MrChrome posted:How tall are they? Pretty tall, here's a photo of out back, all the yellowing trees are the ones I got with herbicide a week ago. There were also scattered small ones in the grass I've pulled up 
100 HOGS AGREE fucked around with this message at 14:55 on Aug 25, 2023 |
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Aug 25, 2023 14:30
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Dr. Eldarion posted:All this talk of tree of heaven made me actually look it up, and immediately I was like "oh crap there's something that looks like of like that right on the border of my neighbor's yard". Went out there this morning and took some pictures. Google Lens thinks it's eastern black walnut and the more I look at tree of heaven identification information the more I think this is not ToH, but If someone here could double check that and reassure me I'd greatly appreciate it. Walnut leaves also have a distinct, nutty, spicy, citrusy scent when crushed, like a hickory or pecan. If you slice open the stem of the leaflet, black walnut has a chambered brown pith in the middle whereas alianthus has a spongy pith. https://extension.psu.edu/tree-of-heaven-native-look-alikes
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Aug 25, 2023 15:07
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Thanks, everyone! Leaves smell good and based on all this it's not a ToH. Happy to have dodged that bullet. Edit: Also happy to have something growing that'll provide food! Eventually. It's still only like 6 feet tall. Dr. Eldarion fucked around with this message at 16:04 on Aug 25, 2023 |
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Aug 25, 2023 16:02
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Now, despite being native and good, mostly, black walnuts can still be a weedy pain in the rear end. In climates/locations where they are happy, they can be VERY happy and start poppin up all over the place. Their roots put out a chemical that stunts the growth of alot fo other plants, especially tomatoes and a lot of other vegetables.
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Aug 25, 2023 18:10
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I have been fighting buckthorn and it is absolutely my enemy
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Aug 25, 2023 18:13
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Kaiser Schnitzel posted:Now, despite being native and good, mostly, black walnuts can still be a weedy pain in the rear end. In climates/locations where they are happy, they can be VERY happy and start poppin up all over the place. Their roots put out a chemical that stunts the growth of alot fo other plants, especially tomatoes and a lot of other vegetables. Shouldn't be an issue, I don't care about the stuff growing near it and all my veggies next year will be in a raised bed a lot farther away.
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Aug 25, 2023 18:40
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FAT32 SHAMER posted:I have been fighting buckthorn and it is absolutely my enemy Yeah me too, common buckthorn here. Thankfully cutting the plant to the base and painting with 20% glyphosate controls it really well. Apparently that does not work on the tree of heaven mentioned earlier. When we had 2 trees taken out the company threw in taking out the 15’ buckthorn for free. I asked to get it herbicided instead of stump ground, and the guy that did the work was incredulous that I wanted it herbicided and not ground down. But just grinding it is a good way to get more buckthorn suckers everywhere.
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Aug 25, 2023 19:01
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Eeyo posted:But just grinding it is a good way to get more buckthorn suckers everywhere. I had 1/2 acre of buckthorn ground up with a guy on a skidsteer, it was just too much to go through tree by tree. Two years of mowing and the suckers quit coming up, I still see an odd sapling here and there but that's easy enough. The glyphosphate is really the way to go. How are you handling them post cutting? Some of my thickets are so gnarled up it's really tough to tug them out without limbing them. I'm tempted to cut, treat, and just leave them standing and let nature rot them.
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Aug 25, 2023 19:12
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I don't have yard space for this, but could one of you in 8B or hotter grow a suhosine mulberry and report back? It's a very handsome plant, and also fruits. Thanks. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Debregeasia_orientalis
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Aug 25, 2023 19:48
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Yooper posted:I had 1/2 acre of buckthorn ground up with a guy on a skidsteer, it was just too much to go through tree by tree. Two years of mowing and the suckers quit coming up, I still see an odd sapling here and there but that's easy enough. The glyphosphate is really the way to go. Thankfully mine aren’t super dense and we have a relatively small lot. We just had about half a dozen clusters, plus a monster male in the back. Tons of small ones everywhere though. All the ones I killed off are less than an inch diameter, so I’ve just been letting nature take its course. They tend to have an extensive, shallow, and wide fibrous root network, so it’s very annoying to re-plant areas they colonized. Thankfully the seeds are only viable a handful of years, so hopefully you’ll stop getting sprouts soon.
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Aug 25, 2023 20:38
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I finally eliminated the incredible amount of buckthorn from my front yard garden, and now I am inspired to handle it elsewhere  Also got my hedges, bushes, and trees trimmed up, which will make the next time I cut the lawn much easier
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Aug 27, 2023 01:57
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Yooper posted:I've got a solid plan this fall to attack the Glossy Buckthorn in my woodline involving a chainsaw, clippers, and a dauber of glyphosphate. Tests I did last winter show 100% success in killing the main tree. I've had good luck with talking to my AG extension (per this thread) about the best native shrubs and bushes for things like that. Helped me find things that grow better in my climate/soil. It just search Google for fast growing barrier in (blank). Edit: also gently caress buckthorn. We have a 30 ft wall of woods on the left and back of our 2 acre yard, which also has a creek and it was full of buckthorn. I've made a decent dent in a year, but it's easily going to take me a few years at this rate to get everything in there. Protip we learned at a zoo class - if you scrape the bark with a fork or knife in the early spring (or winter) when things are less dense, buckthorn has a bright orange, like a pumpkin, inside. Other stuff will be green. Douche4Sale fucked around with this message at 15:46 on Aug 27, 2023 |
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Aug 27, 2023 15:42
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So my spidey sense is tingling about the prairie grass conversion, just because I’m surrounded by houses. Specifically, the necessary prescribed burns every few years. I don’t want to start the process of conversion if I can’t manage it well, so I emailed a land management consultant to help give me the green light on whether it can be done safely given that there is only a 3ft gap from the fence.
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Aug 28, 2023 19:35
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It would seem to me that planting something that requires a prescribed burn in a neighborhood of any kind, never mind in a location up against a property line and fence, would be such a non-starter that no one would get past the initial thoughts stage. Am I missing something here?
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Aug 28, 2023 19:56
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devmd01 posted:So my spidey sense is tingling about the prairie grass conversion, just because I’m surrounded by houses. Specifically, the necessary prescribed burns every few years. I don’t want to start the process of conversion if I can’t manage it well, so I emailed a land management consultant to help give me the green light on whether it can be done safely given that there is only a 3ft gap from the fence. Nooooo. The answer is no. Hold the laptop far away from you when you get the reply, because the consultant's screaming will stream straight through the text and into your ears.
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Aug 28, 2023 20:20
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I would be very mad if my neighbor was burning their entire yard, both from an air quality standpoint and a what the gently caress are you doing standpoint Although if you pick the right conditions, you have the opportunity to convert the entire neighborhood to prairie grass. Rewilding!
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Aug 28, 2023 20:21
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The University of Minnesota has advicequote:The best way to manage a large prairie is through the use of controlled burns. Fire promotes plant growth by keeping down competition from trees and weeds, and by recycling nutrients. Burning is not practical or possible in all situations, as in small lots or within the city limits.
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Aug 28, 2023 20:24
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nothing to see here move along
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Aug 28, 2023 20:25
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Fair enough, that’s the sanity check I needed.
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Aug 28, 2023 20:40
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Just start over seeding with a good tall fescue so that you don’t have to worry about mowing it frequently or watering it and call it a day
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Aug 28, 2023 20:51
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Yeah, I've read that mowing and de-thatching is the alternative to prescribed burns from several sources. That's what I'm planning on doing anyway. I don't remember reading you'd have to do it every year. You don't burn the whole planting every year at any rate, and usually you burn only patches so you don't kill off the insects living in the planting. So you can probably just rotate part of it every couple of years and dethatch and it's probably good enough. Worst case scenario? You don't like the results and you can just kill everything off again and plant something different. Edit: I must have read it here as well. I remember UMN's site from earlier research too, that was posted earlier quote:https://www.prairiemoon.com/blog/resources-and-information/how-to-grow-a-prairie-from-seed They also recommend yearly clearing for the 1st 5 years, then dividing in 3 thereafter. Eeyo fucked around with this message at 21:16 on Aug 28, 2023 |
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Aug 28, 2023 21:04
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Eeyo posted:Worst case scenario? You don't like the results and you can just kill everything off again and plant something different. I value your advice, Motronic.
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Aug 28, 2023 21:15
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devmd01 posted:Fair enough, that’s the sanity check I needed. It wouldn't make a ton more smoke than someone burning leaves. Absolutely definitely check your local laws and regulations and get any applicable permits, which may require some kind of training or certification which may not be worth doing. In my state it's like a 40hr class but if you have taken the class and call and get a permit it does give you some liability protections, especially about smoke on roadways. I think you are still SOL if you burn up someone's timber or house or w/e though and the high cost of insurance is one reason getting property prescribed burned is relatively expensive. My great uncle is a forester and I used to burn alot with him when I was younger. Setting the woods on fire is incredibly cool and fun and good. e: to be clear, I'm not saying it's a good idea but I do think it could be done. I doubt your neighbors would appreciate it though. Kaiser Schnitzel fucked around with this message at 21:44 on Aug 28, 2023 |
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Aug 28, 2023 21:32
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