May 2015 – Page 9 – LandRemedy Blog

2011 – Benign Biomass and Protection

We also got several bales of straw and spread them around the slope. You can also see a pile of boulders in the far right; when our septic system was replaced, we asked them to put any large boulders in this area. This is the same area where a protective black landscape fabric type of barrier fence had been erected, to protect what lie below it, so we figured the boulders would be most beneficial here, if or until we found a better place for them.

The Phragmites had been pulled; a significant number of stalks and rhizomes had been removed. In the autumn of 2011, we did a very careful application of the recommended herbicide to its remaining stems. We were fervently hoping to have dead Phragmites next spring, instead of alive and green Phragmites.

Furthermore, we actually had planted something on the slope. Earlier that year, I found a slow-growing Blue Star Juniper for a great price at Costco (on left, surrounded by mulch and rocks). To the left of the boulders is a Blue Point Juniper, also from Costco. You can also see the gorgeous, dark green of a native Juniperus virginiana (“Eastern Red Cedar”), with a larger pine to its left, and a smaller pine volunteer to its right.

photo of slope — Straw serves as mulch, December 2011

2011 Thinking About Erosion Control

By November, we had succeeded in removing so many invasive plants from the slope area that I became concerned about water just rushing down the slope, with no plants to stop its progress.

There weren’t that many “good” plants remaining, after we took out the invasives. There were about 3 willows, and a few other smaller shrub/trees. However, the ground only had smaller plants, like tiger lilies and some lower-growing perennial invasive plants that I (fortunately) had not identified yet.

We had to think creatively. I drove many miles to an Agway, to pick up a roll of landscape jute. It turns out, this stuff is wonderful for a slope! We’re also fortunate to have neighbors with laying hens, who shared some of their wonderful compost. I layered the compost with leaves, some unfinished compost I had, some wood chips, etc., “lasagne” style, then covered the whole area with the jute, tacking it down with staples.

jute used on slope, photo — One steep area of slope, covered with jute, December 2011

A Pre-Owned Kioti Tractor

A friend whose property was “overplanted” sold us his Kioti tractor. Trying to get up to speed, I studied its users’ manual and read online discussion groups of people who use tractors. At first, it was a bit intimidating, however, soon I learned that with very careful use, it was an indispensable tool. Plus, now we could brush hog our own back acre.

I learned about all the cool attachments you can get for these things. As a middle-aged female with arthritic joints, I soon developed a mean case of “tractor envy,” every time I drove by a certain house in town. This person had every imaginable tractor attachment, and I wanted them all! Soon I realized, you don’t really need that many. We have a 16-inch bucket, 24-inch bucket and a brush hog attachment. A year later, we acquired a “thumb,” which comes in handy in picking up large boulders.

Inspiration from San Francisco

photo of garden — San Francisco Botanical Garden, September, in the Japanese Tea Garden

2011 – Progress, Slow and Steady

Progress has been steady.

We hacked through the central part of the “jungle” on the slope.

We went after significant patches of Phragmites.

The Knotweed was soon to suffer a similar fate.

Planting anything was still inconceivable, yet, something had to take the place of all those invasives!

photo of W slope — Another “during” photo, looking out from the house onto the NW corner of the pond, with the knotweed patch to the right.

photo of knotweed — The knotweed patch, “during,” shows signs of weakening, September 2011, when it is in flower.

Steve has cut and piled many stalks of knotweed. Then, into the small portion of its stem remaining in the ground, he carefully injected a very small amount of herbicide. Knotweed is hollow, like bamboo, so this is the best time of year to do this, when the plant is drawing energy down into its roots.

We had made progress. Two years earlier (it would have been less, without our huge renovation and septic replacement), this is what it had looked like:

Brush, Brush and More Brush

There was so much brush, we didn’t know where to put it! We already had accumulated 3 brush piles, and were planning to consolidate them into one, later, when they had compressed a bit.

We had a dumpster from the apartment renovation. We were also almost ready to begin our kitchen renovation. It’s very important to note, no plant material was ever put into the dumpster! Instead, the area next to the dumpster served as a good temporary holding area for brush. We attempted to keep invasive brush separate from non-invasive brush, however, that was impractical, back in 2011. Pretty much all of it had to be considered invasive.

brush next to dumpster — Brush in temporary holding area, next to dumpster

photo of brush pile — Another temporary holding area for brush, August 2011. (Now, May of 2015, there is a lilac shrub right where that pallet used to be.)

August 2011 – We Go After the Giant Patch of Phragmites

We have become emboldened, and begin pulling phragmites and rhizomes from their most southeastern stronghold (far side of pond from house).

photo of phragmites — The huge patch of phragmites on the far side of the pond. Its days were numbered.

H.S. Football Players Decimate Phragmites Patches

Now, you can understand why we needed the strong guys!

Summer 2011 – Slogging Through

One day, nobody was available to help, so I decided to go after a small patch of phragmites myself.

The important thing to understand, is that the more of the rhizome you can get out, which is underground, and connected to other rhizomes, the better. Imagine a giant, soggy piece of ginger root, with an eight-foot tall piece of grass attached to it.

My technique was to loosen the rhizomes with a shovel (being careful not to break off any fragments, which could root), and then see if they would pull out. If you find one that’s impossible, then work around it, removing its neighbors. In a few minutes, when you return to the stubborn one, it’s often ready to give up. All bits and pieces have to be carefully piled onto a tarp.

photo of phragmites, after — The same patch, after I dug out the phragmites.

“Well, that doesn’t look like much!” I hear you say. However, when you get down closer, you see how big they really are. Note the skinny shovel, which can be more precise, and also lighter, that gives an idea of the scale of things.

pile of phragmites photo — Pile of Phragmites on a tarp, with skinny shovel.

Summer 2011 – We Have Lots of Help

The H.S. football guys found it fairly easy to dig, say, a 6-foot-tall buckthorn out of the ground, roots and all. Multiflora rose roots aren’t as deep, so they were easier (for them).

While the big guys went after the slope, Elisha and I started cutting a path through the NW corner of the pond, where several beautiful quaking aspen trees were being strangled by massive bittersweet vines.

I wish I had a photo of it, but atop the steepest part of our riprap, was a giant old multiflora rose. Its stems were easily a couple of inches thick. It was scary. We had to at least have another way of reaching this thing, aside from above!

The back acre beyond the pond is now ours, acquired through a trade with the neighbors.

Just to get a general idea of what it took to accomplish what we did in summer of 2011, here’s a partial list of who did what, and when:

6/17/11 – Kirk helping with invasives
6/18/11 – Kirk helping with invasives
6/24 -25-26/11 – Alisha, Kirk, Leon
6/1-2/11 – Alisha, Kirk
7/1/11 – Alisha
7/6/11 – Alisha, Kirk, Reggie
7/7/11 – Kirk, Reggie
7/13/11 – Kirk, Reggie, Alisha
7/19/11 – Kirk
7/20/11 – Kirk
7/25/11 – Kirk
8/2/11 – Kirk, Reggie
8/3/11 – Kirk, Reggie
8/4/11 – Kirk
8/5/11 – Jim Henderson brush hogged the back acre.
8/20/11 – Kirk, Yaseen, Justin and I pulled phragmites for 6 hours.
9/26/11 – I pick up plants at Garden in the Woods. This feels like a reward.