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livingontheland - Re: [Livingontheland] Food Not Lawns

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  • From: Harvey Ussery <huboxwood@earthlink.net>
  • To: livingontheland@lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: Re: [Livingontheland] Food Not Lawns
  • Date: Sun, 01 Apr 2007 08:49:31 -0400

I think "Food not lawns" is a great idea. For two years now, I have rotation-grazed my waterfowl (ducks and geese) over five plots of our former "lawns" (now re-named our "close-in pastures"), turning what was a useless chore into a valuable resource: I did far less mowing, the waterfowl's poops gave a fertility boost to the lawn-pastures, and we harvested that grass in the form of meat and cooking fat in the fall.

Another good use of the lawn is as "fertility patch": I've started overseeding the lawns with the same mix of clovers, alfalfa, and grasses I use to seed my pastures. In the spring, when the mix is growing fast, I let it get long enough to cut with the scythe for use as mulches and composts. Later, when growth slows down, I (together with the grazing waterfowl) keep it more conventionally trimmed (but still use the bagger on the mower to catch the clippings for fertility applications elsewhere).

~Harvey
--
Harvey in northern VA
www.themodernhomestead.us

"Just a single fill of ethanol for a four-wheel drive SUV uses
enough grain to feed one person for an entire year." ~Lester Brown




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