Doug, thank you for the no-till channel reference! Thank you, Chris for bock 14 and deer fodder suggestions...no, we have no strict timeline as yet, just trying to make significant progress each year I whatever directions we can. Thanks, Nancy, for the Garden Master excerpt. I am all in favor of letting the weeds continue to perform a useful function until we are ready to fill all available niches with other crops. Phil, thanks for sharing your experiences with decompaction.
I am now wondering whether or to broad scale mulch application is necessary if I plan to work with chop & drop methods for current weed stands, summer plantings and winter cover crops. Would these three applications of chop & drop be sufficient by this time next year to sew directly into? I would probably still spot mulch tree and fruiting shrub seedlings as I acquire them, but would love to avoid the expense and compaction risk of trucking in large volumes of mulch.
Because we don't have a rigid timeline or require financial returns on this project in the near future, I would probably lean toward a no-til approach toward compaction and soil fertility. I'd also prefer to take my time investigating the best plants to include in the polyculture over time, rather than committing to a total replanting all at once.
fWe have a lumber yard nearby that offers flatbed loads of hardwood bark mulch at affordable prices. First of all, I was wondering how bark mulch compares with wood chip mulch. Secondly, I am wondering if the chop & drop method, applied three times a year with weeds, summer crops and winter cover crops would approach a comparably hospitable environment for planting directly into as would bark mulch at applied 2-3 inches' depth over areas to be planted. I imagine the weed seeds being banked in the soil would still require chop & drop of weed species for several years, anyway.
I very much appreciate all of your help!
Brian