Subject: Re: naturalizing yard
From: hank@netcom.com (Hank Roberts)
Organization: Netcom On-Line Services
Date: Sat, 24 Jan 1998 03:27:20 GMT
Message-ID: <MOD$980123.6639@rec.gardens.ecosystems>
References: <MOD$980122.4042@rec.gardens.ecosystems> <MOD$980123.28503@rec.gardens.ecosystems>
tomansky writes:
>John Patterson wrote:
>>I live next to a woods in E TN. There are ferns and other groundcover
>>in the woods. I would like to get rid of my lawn and have my yard look
>>like the woods eventually. How should I start?
>Well, don't start by digging up stuff in the woods. Seriously, I
>started by knowing the whole back yard was going to go. So, first I
>"Round-up" killed the grass. This stuff gets bad press in some circles,
>but I find that it's good point is it works ...
I agree up to there; after that, I'd suggest that if you have access
to enough 'woods' -- borrow 'mulch' (leaf litter, and the decaying
darker layer under that) from the woods. Don't strip an area, of
course; look for places you can rake up a bag or two here and there,
ask permission if there's someone to ask; scatter some leaves or
pine needles or whatever after you've taken some leaf litter so it
doesn't look scalped.
Rather than go straight into planting plants, what you'll benefit from
in the long run is propagating the woodland _soil_ itself; it's mostly
alive, miles of fungus mycelium and zillions of nematodes and other
critters of all sorts in every handful. Look for some old decaying
logs that you can scoop crumbling rotting wood from, or pick up
and cart home. Remember that 'brown' material is going to steal nitrogen
as it rots, the first few years, so check around for road work or
construction where you might be able to get some green leafy material too.
Sure, you can put in nursery plants - better than digging them up out of
the woods for sure, and remember to sterilize that trowel every time you
do go poking it into mother nature, with some dilute bleach at least, lest
you carry trouble with you.
With a bit of patience and a lot of mulching you'll find the seed bank
that it carries along with it to your yard, finding its own places. Ask
a local botanist to come help you make a 'flora' -- book of your own very
local natives. There may be five hundred grasses around, but once you
know which dozen you have nearby, you'll be able to recognize the native
ones. Expect the natives to spend the first year or two making roots, while
the invasive annuals may be growing like crazy, dying in the fall after
seeding (stop them before they do...) so weed a lot the first few years.
Or, you can do it the way my family did -- just mow, high and not too often
every season, don't pull anything up unless you have to, and wait a couple
of decades (grin). Last time I visited my mother, she had box turtles
living around the house as pets, along with a lot of other native plants
and animals, just from letting them move in.