Yeardly Arthur

This topic is speaking directly to me just now, since the Missus gave me permission to add a second-hand wood chipper to my arsenal of (now three) outdoor power tools. I plan to use it to clear old deadwood, turn new saplings into RCW, and process larger "weeds" for mulch and compost. (I'm liable to use it to pulverize charcoal as well.)

Living in the southeastern U.S., one of my favorite overgrowth mulch sources are Elderberry Bushes. One plant can reach 8 feet in every dimension in a single season, and send runners to all points in the garden. The starfish of the garden, they will also (Not Can. *Will*.) re-root if you try to chop-and-drop, so I'm hoping that the shredder will render small enough pieces to prevent a total garden takeover from ramial chips. If that doesn't work, I'll compost the chips and stir them until the roots cook away.

Two other sources for mulch in my garden are Sweet Potato vines (mentioned above), and Lamb's Quarters. This time of year (late August), both are reaching their full potential, the latter bushing out to 6 ft in height. After harvesting the leaves, the woody branches offer a satisfying crunch slipping through the shredder.

Finally, we live in a rural neighborhood, and our yard is fronted by a long row of Boxwood Shrubs. I actually enjoy trimming these back every year, since I know they will add a couple of truckloads of biomass to the garden spaces. This will be an even better source of mulch now, since I can chip them down to a more useful size.

All you really need to maintain the system is a dedicated staff of children to crawl in and clear out the ash. ; )

I have come to appreciate any and all invasives on my half-acre patch. All wild grasses are just mulch in the wrong spot, or begging to become compost in the middle of my keyhole gardens. Saplings are asking to be relocated, chipped, or turned into tomato cages.

Anything else goes into a bucket and gets drowned underwater to make fertilizer tea. I have several of these percolating most of the time, making the back corner of my lot smell like I have cows on the property.

Thekla McDaniels wrote:
And a nitrogen fixer!  Instant hot compost.  Are there any mimosa trees that survive freezing winters?

We get down into the teens every winter. The mimosas don't care. They just laugh along with the invasive privets.

I used to power up my compost pile every year by clearing out the invasive mimosa trees along the road to our place, and running them through the chipper. Papery wood, lots of moisture and  sugary sap had the pile steaming before I got back from lunch.

r ransom wrote:I love this so much.

I wonder how to keep the upright sticks still while starting the weave.  Stick em in the ground?

You can stick them in the ground and cut them off when finished, or just build them where you want them and leave them there. These are temporary structures, after all.
Another method is to build a wooden base frame and drill holes to hold the sticks. That makes for an easier weave, and lets you keep the frame to build multiple projects.

When I was learning to build my tomato cages, I had to anchor the sticks in the ground first before I could tie the wreath ribs in place. (Believe me, it was a wrestling match at first. They don't look like much, but at eight feet tall, there was a vigorous learning curve involved. They insisted on twisting and falling over.) I finally learned that the sticks had to be sunk deep, and the lowest ring tied first. If I do this again, I'll probably build a plywood base with guide holes, and extras drilled at the corners to hold anchor stakes.

What we usually call pigeons are doves, too. Rock doves. They're very nearly the same, but that does nothing to answer your question.
Real pigeons are tasty, and most have been hunted out of existence in North America. All but the Band-tailed Pigeon, which is still common along the Pacific coast.

So let's check off the knowns: All these birds are fast. All can be gray. All can have red legs, with the exception of the Band-tailed Pigeons, whose feet tend to be yellow. Rock doves and Band-tailed Pigeons are larger, thicker, and darker gray than your bird.

"Doves" as we know them, are smaller, slimmer, and usually lighter in color (dove gray), like your visitor. There are two common varieties of doves in your neighborhood, native Mourning Doves and Eurasian Collared Doves. The collared ones are bigger than the native ones, are a little bit lighter gray, and have a black crescent at the back of the neck. The leg band may be the giveaway, since the invasive Eurasians are being studied to determine numbers, location, and territory expansion. They're probably tasty, too, and may not be protected from hunting since they are an invasive species. If you decide to harvest them, let the authorities know about the information on the band, and where you found them.

Edit: Just seeing Elise Hahn's comment above. I yield to their wisdom and experience.

Skyler Weber wrote:Does anyone know if the Chinese Loess plateau afforestation created any increase in rainfall?

Yes, it did:
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0168192325002436

"The Grain for Green Project in the Chinese Loess Plateau (CLP) has greatly increased vegetation cover and altered land use patterns... On average, 21 % of the Evaporation/Transpiration moisture contributed to 14 % of local precipitation. The remaining ET moisture contributed unevenly to downwind precipitation of different regions: 38 % of ET for rest of China, 17 % for other countries, and 24 % for the ocean. The increased ET over the past three decades has greatly contributed to the increases in local precipitation."

Mushrooms increase rainfall, too:
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4624964/,
https://www.chipcopreserve.com/post/how-mushrooms-make-it-rain-the-surprising-science-of-fungal-forecasting

"Unlike dust or pollution, fungal spores are particularly effective at attracting water. Their surfaces are hygroscopic, meaning they love water, and they can absorb moisture even in relatively dry conditions. Once in the atmosphere, spores help jumpstart the formation of clouds by providing a platform for water droplets to gather. When fungal spores are released en masse, especially after a rain, they prime the atmosphere to welcome the next rain event. In other words, mushrooms don’t just thrive in wet environments; they help create them."

So, it makes sense to improve the soil by planting trees and providing conditions that encourage biodiversity.  More trees and understory plants lead to more fungi. Trees (via evaporation & transpiration) and fungi (vis spore formation) both lead to more rain, locally and farther afield.

Perhaps as Permies we have less difficulty seeing things in process mode as opposed to everything being a problem in need of a permanent solution. Modern humans tend to believe in permanent solutions, and build accordingly. Nature never has.

Beavers build dams because eons of natural selection have rewarded dam-building behavior with increased survival, and the enjoyment of daily swimming. Dams create ponds which provide safety and security, and expand water availability for growing food. All of these are temporary - short to medium-term solutions for ongoing issues, but while they last they are very effective in serving the beavers' needs.

Ecologically (as the photographs demonstrate), over the long term the ponds behind beaver dams fill up to make new meadows. They become less effective at providing protection for the beaver community, but are great at creating and expanding habitat for additional plant life, and food for future beavers. If and when the dams fail, the flow of water will resume, providing an opportunity for building new dams downstream offering renewed security (and recreation) for new generations.
Permanent dams would not benefit beavers in the same way. Eventually they would have no place to hide, and nowhere to raise their families.

I believe what we Permies are trying to do is similar. We build solutions that also provide immediate, if temporary benefits for us and our communities. There of course are long-term benefits as well, as we manage water and nutrient cycles, provide habitat for beneficial plants and animals, and bend the course of land management toward a more sustainable path. That to me is a different effort than trying to permanently "fix" the land. When I re-form parts of my property to capture more rain or re-utilize available biomass, there is certainly an awareness that some of these changes will remain long after I am gone. Mostly, though, I am trying to make temporary, seasonal enhancements to the landscape that will make the place look greener and prettier, will bring in more beans and tomatoes, and give us enough squash and sweet potatoes to last the winter.

Whether the next inhabitant of these spaces cares to put in a garden or not, the 'meadow' I leave behind will have greater potential for supporting a greater abundance of life than it had before.

Nancy Reading wrote: ("100 seeds, 2 might work..." )

That's my entire gardening philosophy.

This year my neighbors think I am a genius for planting peanuts and sweet potatoes. Those are just the two of the hundred that survived.
(Not counting the zinnias that volunteered without any say-so on my part. The locals think the sudden addition of color is masterful.)