posted 15 years ago
amazing your observations about your property.
we bought a property that had been cleared many years ago and used as a celery farm..it was rich in peat and in underground springs.
when we moved onto the property into an old farmhouse..the only trees were 2 aspen, one ash, one oak and one maple, 2 box elder (that died) and 1 pear and 2 apples that were in sad sad shape...the soil was very depleated and there were fields basically around the property overgrown with mostly quackgrass and goldenrod.
way on our back property was a small group of aspens, quite young, and a few small groups of Canadian Hemlocks.
I had read in a North American Wildlife book that our area should be a mixed wood of soft and hardwoods made mostly of aspen, birch, wild cherry, maple, oak and white ash and I could see evidence of that around me, with beech also on the higher ground.
We could see the beginnings of this having begun to reform after the property had not been farmed for celery in a half dozen or more years. MOstly the aspen were starting, which are a sort of nurse tree. When the grow and die, as they are shortlived, they feed and nurture the hardwoods and other types of trees. After living on the property for nearly 39 years now, we have nearly reforsted the property that we own, and have started reforestation on the property our son owns beside us. We now have some full size oaks, maples and ash trees growing on the property as well as many types of evergreens and fruit trees. We are starting nut trees , as of last year we put in lots of small nut seedlings. We also have established a LOT of shrubs and perennial food and flower crops as well as herbs . We took a low lying wet area to make a 150 x 75 to 80 ' pond that holds the runoff from the property with an overflow into a swampy area..alders and willows have sprung up around the pond and the shallows are home to cattails and water lilies. We now have a huge abundance of wildlife and birds galore that live on our property including whitetail deer, bear, fox, wolves, coyote, rabbits, possum, skunks, racoon, mink, squirrels, etc..etc..etc.. we even have wild turkey, pheasant, quail and other game birds as well as hundreds of songbirds.
I have just ordered Gaias garden so that i can read more on what i should do with our new forest, that covers about 10 acres of our property, I am aware it needs management, but wasn't quite sure as to how to go about it.
i adore the edges on my property too, road ditches, fenclines, irregular pond edges, slopes from the house and gardens into fields and lawns. lots of little coves that catch all kinds of blown in debris, and bird and animal waste all over the property bringing in seedlings and manures.. I tis a wonderful change from 39 years ago
Brenda
Bloom where you are planted.
http://restfultrailsfoodforestgarden.blogspot.com/