A Hidalgo wrote:Look up Natural Earth Paint. I don't remember if it's a .com or what, but I've been using them for a few years now, and even their solvents are not that stinky. The artist started experimenting when she got pregnant and didn't want the toxicity around her and her kids. The colors are beautiful, and they pride themselves on being as low toxicity as possible. They even have a line of face paint.
It absolutely will work. As you can see in the pics I posted there is a Thornless Honey Locust. Two years ago the branches were beginning to rub on the roof of the house and we needed to get it trimmed back. The arborist we’ve used many years back came over to take a look and said “That tree is about 60 years old.” My wife corrected him by saying we planted that back in 1989 after a tornado took out the previous tree, a Crimson Maple, that resided in that spot. The Locust was about 10 foot tall at the time and less thick than my wrist. It had to have side stabilizers put on it for the first few years or so. He was amazed at the size now. Well, the tree had been fed by septic runoff that had been deep in the soil for 30 years. We have sewers now, because the old septic systems did not work with the soil in our community. Our Perc was so bad that you could smell septic everywhere, and most yards and lawns were wet muck during the summer. By the time we got here in 1988, we already had the sewers in place. When the tree was being planted, the landscape guy said he could smell septic as he was digging the hole. Our septic tank was originally located at the back of the house, down slope of where the tree was planted. It was our neighborhood septic flow that had permeated the soil. Sure enough, after a couple of years that tree took off and has been as healthy as could be. I’m guessing the raw sewage in that soil must have gotten broken down and acted like super food for that tree. Doesn’t say much that we’re living on top of poop, but it has worked out well for the trees.wayne fajkus wrote:I have often thought about digging holes around a newly planted tree. Fill it up with kitchen scraps, fish guts, manure, whatever. Space them where it may be a year or two before the roots get to them. Water infiltration is probably another benefit to doing this.
paul, I don’t know if you got notified that I posted the pics you asked for. I quoted one of my posts instead of yours. Anyway, they are up.paul wheaton wrote:Al, if you get a chance, can you post an updated pic?
Here are some pics of the same area as seven years ago. The brown area is from our female dog's urine and the dark patch on the lower right is where they dig to eat the dirt or insects.Al Loria wrote:
Paul, as soon as it stops raining and it can be mowed I will send some update pics. It may be a few days though.paul wheaton wrote:Al, if you get a chance, can you post an updated pic?
Earthworms are a big part of getting a lawn healthy. We had very few before due to the artificial products and no organic material such as leaves or mulch. Now I know we have a good population now because the soil is less compact and has better drainage. One spot that had pooled water on it every time it rained hasn’t had standing water in years.paul wheaton wrote:I decided to call this thing a "earthworm town" and changed the subject line.
Paul, as soon as it stops raining and it can be mowed I will send some update pics. It may be a few days though.paul wheaton wrote:Al, if you get a chance, can you post an updated pic?
Al Loria wrote:Now that the snow is gone and the rains have been consistent I thought I would post an update.
Last year's efforts paid off. The grass is coming in a beautiful green and there are no dead spots as there were last year. In fact, we greened up sooner than our neighbor's lawns. The only places not filled in with grass are where the dogs have dug to eat the soil. I still have not been able to figure out why they do this, but it is confined to two small areas, and all four dogs do it.
Lots of clover coming in, and a few dandelions. That is fine by me.
Okay, so here's the plan. The lazy man lawn starts now! No more organic material, except for coffee grounds, no more compost, and most of all, no more getting nuts over this. High mowing for the entire growing season and we'll see how it goes. As soon as it all gets a good mow I'll post a few pics.
Now we can move on to other plans. Started with chickens this year, the garden needs to be planted and we might add a few more trees and bushes. Not having the lawn to worry about frees up time for better things. The only thing we will work on with the lawn is to eventually make it smaller. I have a plan for a small Hugelkultur bed there and have been setting up ideas for plantings. Suggestions are welcomed.
Al