Jamie Davis

Great thoughts.

Very where there is a will there is a way ish.

None of us enjoy getting political or conspiratorial but to solve problems you have to understand them.

There is not always a will, a good will. Thats evident if we are being intellectually honest.

So like the weeds (no negative connotation in my mind) that seek our pockets of productive soil amidst cracks in the sidewalk...we must find out where there is a will...and do our restorative work there.

Great update. We bought our country home on 6.5 acres and promptly had 3 kids in 3 years. It was less than ideal to say the least. I ended up doing the minimum outside so i could help inside. For out evolving food forest that meant nurturing wild edibles via mulching and clearing around them and atrmpting to keep the invasives controlled. So many projects i would have liked to do first, such as earthworks to get the hydrology moving in the right direction. But my wife and kids are well which is why i wanted land to begin with.

Good luck!

Thanks for posting.

Agree, that is curly dock. Young leaves good in salad or soup. Amish make medicinal out of root they call it yellow dock.

Interesting question. Eutrophication is the technical term for what is occurring. The change in water flows from meandering to straight shot compounds the issue of fertilizer overflow.

The challenge with hyacinth is overgrowth to the point of choking waterways. Duckweed not so much choking as obscuring waterways.

Harvesting the algae is a solid idea although i imagine the runoff is not just wholesome fertilizer but a mix of pesticides as well. Would thr algea as fertilizer be clean, contaminated, or somewhere in between.

One additional idea is to add oxygen. Churn that water with solar powered fountains. The end stage of eutrophication is death of the lake due to anearobic conditions. Adding oxygen mechanically using wind or solar may be the least objectionable intervention.

You can add lots of greens and turn it...or...you can urinate in a bucket, dilute it 10:1 and then apply it via a backpack sprayer.

People with houses close to major lines do develop major health issues. And the houses dont sell easily or quickly.

Joseph Lofthouse wrote:
Around here, the going rental rate for agricultural property is negative... By that I mean that people pretty much have to pay to have a farmer take care of it for them. There is so much land that is a burden to the property owner. They wish someone/anyone would take care of it for them to relieve them of the burden. I turn down offers every year to take care of more rent-free land.  Before I realized that the true rental cost of agricultural land in this area is zero, I was paying about $40 per acre per year. My grandmother for her land that I didn't farm was collecting about $50 per acre per year.

In my area of E. TN, they spray herbicides under the power lines as that is lower maintenance than using power equipment. Might want to look into local practices in your area on that topic.

George Hayduke wrote:
I fenced my property with a 4' tall field fence with a strand of barbwire on the top.
I have three dogs, one of which is a certifiable 140 lb. bad ass.  (Google fila brasileiro and check out the videos on Youtube.)
I post No Trespassing signs.
I put a few game cameras around the property that text me a photo whenever they detect a moving object.
On some weekends I engage in noisy target practice with guns.

Spectacular advice above.

I would only add that you can do this in zones if time and or budget influence your decision.

Zone 1 - near your abode should be established and secured first. If the size of your land is such that you will be developing it in stages, then you may not care if a neighbor crosses your property lines on the back 40 occasionally. If you only develop zone 1 initially but fence all of your land (zones 2,3, etc), you may be inviting a cut fence. In rural areas common land is a "tradition". When you are ready to seriously develop a zone, that is the time to fence it and get prepared to defend it. If you don't have immediate need of a zone, leaving it open to common use can actually show your sensitivity to "local traditions". Not saying you should put out a dump your stuff here sign, but not all trespassers are ill willed. Plus you can actually learn a lot of Op sec from dealing with wandering neighbors.

Bonus tip - you can buy shotgun shells packed with salt that will do no permanent harm, but will sting like the dickens.

re: What do you think? Sure I'm lazy but aren't we all...aren't many of us...aren't some of us...are you? If I have to turn it I will but if I can find a simpler method I'll go with that.

I did an experiment a few years back in winter with my leaf pile. At first I just piled them up and left them exposed to elements, sun, rain, etc. Not much happened. Then I began to urinate on the pile every few days. Didn't dilute it and use a sprayer, just stood there and did my thing. Within a week the pile had reduced in size by +75%. So as far as low maintenance way to add nitrogen and make sure a pile breaks down over the winder, it doesn't get much easier than that.