Started getting ready for spring this week!
Weather has been unseasonably warm. So I got 200 lbs of sulfur. In various parts of the yard, I scattered sulfur, gypsum (broken and/or dissolved sheetrock) and dead leaves. Cultivated all that in. Cultivated all the front yard and nearly all the back yard. Total nearly 6000 sq ft cultivated in two days.
Going to replace all or nearly all the trees on the property. So, started cutting down the existing trees. These trees are all cypress or Chinese elm trees and collectively drop a million seed pods everywhere, so badly they can smother other plants. Even if not, I wind up pulling seedlings every year. I would much prefer having flowering, fruit and nut trees and bushes. Haven't finished yet but cut down 4 trees and most of several others. For the rest, it will take going onto other properties to cut some limbs and bringing the truck into the back yard to attach tension lines for others while cutting.
Several of the trees I took down had to fall in a limited area to avoid damage to fences or buildings. The first few, I dropped within 2 feet of where I wanted. That was yesterday. Today, something went wrong with my spatial reasoning. Several trunks nearly fell the wrong way. For one, the cut was right but the wind almost pushed it right toward the neighbor's house! Had to attach a ratcheting tension line. No time to get the truck! That stabilized it. Then I had to tie a rope to a low branch, wrap it around my waist and pull. That brought it down in the right direction. Whew! Couple of others wobbled the wrong way but only required a solid push to fall the way I needed.
So, a lot of the back yard is covered with felled trees. Going to take a lot of work to cut those to pieces. Need to buy a wood chipper with the tax refund when it comes in. That should fill up the compost bin and more!
Tilling and cultivating have done wonders for weed control. Barely a single weed in the yard. Ones which are still there are in places I can't currently get the tiller into.
Finally found a local source for agricultural gypsum. Same place I get the sulfur from, Helena Chemical. I had called them a few months ago and asked about it but they said they didn't have it. Thing is, I asked about Calcium Sulfate. Apparently, whomever I talked to didn't know that gypsum is Calcium Sulfate. And they don't sell by the truckload, only by the bag. I'll get a few bags before planting season because the sheetrock is taking so long to break down. Got a fair amount spread but not nearly enough. Also need to get at least one more bag of sulfur because I want to grow blueberries in a limited area.
Okay, I need some sleep. More wiring tomorrow.
Weather has been unseasonably warm. So I got 200 lbs of sulfur. In various parts of the yard, I scattered sulfur, gypsum (broken and/or dissolved sheetrock) and dead leaves. Cultivated all that in. Cultivated all the front yard and nearly all the back yard. Total nearly 6000 sq ft cultivated in two days.
Going to replace all or nearly all the trees on the property. So, started cutting down the existing trees. These trees are all cypress or Chinese elm trees and collectively drop a million seed pods everywhere, so badly they can smother other plants. Even if not, I wind up pulling seedlings every year. I would much prefer having flowering, fruit and nut trees and bushes. Haven't finished yet but cut down 4 trees and most of several others. For the rest, it will take going onto other properties to cut some limbs and bringing the truck into the back yard to attach tension lines for others while cutting.
Several of the trees I took down had to fall in a limited area to avoid damage to fences or buildings. The first few, I dropped within 2 feet of where I wanted. That was yesterday. Today, something went wrong with my spatial reasoning. Several trunks nearly fell the wrong way. For one, the cut was right but the wind almost pushed it right toward the neighbor's house! Had to attach a ratcheting tension line. No time to get the truck! That stabilized it. Then I had to tie a rope to a low branch, wrap it around my waist and pull. That brought it down in the right direction. Whew! Couple of others wobbled the wrong way but only required a solid push to fall the way I needed.
So, a lot of the back yard is covered with felled trees. Going to take a lot of work to cut those to pieces. Need to buy a wood chipper with the tax refund when it comes in. That should fill up the compost bin and more!
Tilling and cultivating have done wonders for weed control. Barely a single weed in the yard. Ones which are still there are in places I can't currently get the tiller into.
Finally found a local source for agricultural gypsum. Same place I get the sulfur from, Helena Chemical. I had called them a few months ago and asked about it but they said they didn't have it. Thing is, I asked about Calcium Sulfate. Apparently, whomever I talked to didn't know that gypsum is Calcium Sulfate. And they don't sell by the truckload, only by the bag. I'll get a few bags before planting season because the sheetrock is taking so long to break down. Got a fair amount spread but not nearly enough. Also need to get at least one more bag of sulfur because I want to grow blueberries in a limited area.
Okay, I need some sleep. More wiring tomorrow.
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