pamela darcy

* That I will not fill in my grey water pond with gravel (to look better and deter snakes) which will also cause all of my property to flood.
* Compost pile (trashy)
* Putting cardboard down to kill the grass without chemicals.
* Saving empty kitty litter jugs for various uses around the property.
* Harvesting “weeds” for edible and medicinal uses.
* Taking pictures of everything on my property to properly identify.
* Rescuing all the abused and abandoned animals.
* Not wanting to garden over the septic field.
* Wanting to preserve what trees are left.
* Not eating, shooting, toxic spraying, killing any and everything that lives on the property.
🙄🤪😊
They can really eye roll when I go solar and collect the rains.

All great suggestions given here for sure. You are certainly not alone, just not in a fair distance to others maybe that support your lifestyle. I certainly understand. My husband would like 3 acres of just grass. The worthless crap that I have to spend time and energy and money to just mow. Money on the gas (and gas to get the gas), money, stress, and frustration on the lawn mowers that keep breaking. I get eye rolls and told my compost pile is trashy. The “weeds” that I value for what they offer such as Solidago canadensis (pollinators), Glechoma hederacea (edible, medicinal), Mentha Aquatica (edible), Trifolium (edible, medicinal), Iris pseudacorus (wildlife habitat), Verbascum (medicinal), and many more all get mowed over. Neighbors burning plastic and tires frequently sending plumes of black toxic smoke in the air that I breathe. It is certainly frustrating to not feel we are surrounded by community or working along side people with equal values, ideas, and goals. Frustrating to be surrounded by people who actively work against the ecosystem and environment, let alone want no conversation about permaculture or sustainability. As others have suggested, seek out your community by visiting other spaces or volunteering, or starting your own community garden or seed/plant swap, or something similar. Perhaps moving is possible. Maybe an eco village is in your future. For me, I will continue to look for solutions to make my vision bloom. Gardening in containers surrounding by temporary fencing. When the grass gets tall because the mower is broke yet again, that is just that much more green and brown that will be added to my compost pile. Moving all the “weeds” I want to promote to a safe area or containers. Continuing to partake in spaces such as this certainly helps to feel not so isolated in the goal.

All the very best and let us know your progress,
Pamela

Beautiful. I may need to pull my gifted machine back out and try again. I had better success with the oven than the machine. The not heating the house is definitely a good reason of many to try again.

Ha! I love the thorny perimeter to discourage trespassing.

😜

Thank you Anne, yes. Looking into how to determine exactly where all three septic tanks and drain pipes are located on this property. Found nothing in the purchase paperwork. Neighbors do not know. Cannot get in contact with original owner. Had watched a video, but that was not helpful, mostly rock and debris so I really could not be sure what I would be hitting. Yes, once I have an idea of where things really are, I would like to then plan the fruit trees, edibles in containers, and native pollinator gardens.

In the meantime, I do have a concrete slab I can start planting edibles in containers until I can make better use of the property.


🙄
Pamela

Thank you for the reply. The wood chip filtering is definitely doable. Here is a pic of how the house grey water enters the pond. There is already a small ditch like crevice. I can easily add wood chips and any beneficial growers there.

Looking into the aeration options. Maybe an option in the future.

Pamela

The set up from the previous land owner is that all the house water, except toilets, runs into this pond. The pond is also fed from a stream/creek which eventually comes from a dam many miles away.

The pond is full of life with snakes, frogs, turtles, fish, wasps, damselflies, and occasionally heron. So I assume this is a good ecosystem. I do use only natural and environmentally friendly products inside and out.

Surrounding the pond are a lot of useless lillies and weedy type growth. I am slowly clearing and planting beneficial and or medicinal herbs and flowers. What about fruit trees? Do I need to worry about the grey water? How far to plant from the pond? Any suggestions to varieties for Central Arkansas?

I have read that water lillies would be good to clear/clean the water. Any advice on this? Or any other beneficial something for this purpose? The pond is always brown, mucky, oily looking. The pond has no liner. Just Earth and water.

Thank you so much,
Pamela

Thank you for the cardboard info. While the cardboard method worked great for naturally killing the grass, I was not able to garden in that area. Discovered a pipe under a rock that is for the septic tank, so the area may be the septic field. Yuck, did not want to grow my veggies there. Removed the fencing. Saving more cardboard for the next location. One thing after another, yet determined to create a property that works for me and the environment.

pamela

Thank you, I have moved them back a bit from the tree. I certainly had very few weeds since putting the leaves. They mostly broke down nicely. The neighbors horses and hubby mowing destroyed my small fence. 🙄 The exact purpose of the fence to prevent stomping and mowing. Oh well. Will start planting edibles underneath in the fall.

Thank you for the input.
pamela

If anyone is looking for tires for their build project, plenty available free for the picking up in Central Arkansas.

🙂