North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

[Jono Neiger <neiger@csld.edu>]

Just reading this thread now. Wondering if anyone has tried *weeder geese*
in areas like this? I have forest garden areas with understory grasses and
herbs. Now at 10years most of the work is keeping the rampant vegetation
down. Which is a great problem because all the biomass feeds the soil. But
Im thinking of trying weeder geese and in your case, Jay, this might work
as well.

Jono
western ma -going towards zone 6



*Jono Neiger, Principal*
Regenerative Design Group
1 Chevalier Avenue
Greenfield, Massachusetts 01301
web.  regenerativedesigngroup.com
tel.    413-658-7048

Conway School, Faculty
Graduate Program in Sustainable Landscape Planning & Design
www.csld.edu

PINE: Permaculture Institute of the Northeast
www.northeastpermaculture.org


On Wed, May 27, 2015 at 5:17 PM, Jay Cutts <orders@cuttsreviews.com> wrote:

> Thanks for the suggestion. We have plenty of  pine needles here and they
> do break down, mostly mechanically, not biologically. They result in a deep
> layer of organic matter under the trees but that layer is very dry and not
> biologically very active.
>
> The pine needles break down because they're small. Wood chips are too big
> and don't do anything. Except immediately after a rain (which happens only
> a handful of times a year) they are bone dry. Your suggestion of wetting
> them down is nice but would last about a day.
>
> I also personally find wood chips a real pain to work around. They make
> weeding difficult (and yes the grasses and other weeds grow up right
> through them) and are uncomfortable to kneel on when working around the
> tree.
>
> Regards,
>
> Jay
>
> Jay Cutts
> Director, Cutts Graduate Reviews
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>
> On 5/26/2015 11:06 PM, fuwa fuwa usagi wrote:
>
>> My suggestion, run a intermediate term test.  Mark off a 10x10 area, wet
>> it down and then add a minimum of 2ft of wood chips and let it sit for a
>> year...then dig a test whole in it and see what has happened.  If it has
>> decayed a bit and you have worms and insect activity, as I suspect, add
>> enough mulch to bring it back up to st least 2 ft, and check it again a
>> year later.
>>
>> The key is, the sheer mass of the wood chips will likely create a micro
>> environment that promotes decay.   Even in the arid areas of the Gila
>> wilderness there is substantial decay underneath 2 ft of pine needles.
>>
>> This will give you an idea what is truly possible in your area, rather
>> then speculation.
>>
>> 2-3 years to run a test is nothing in the greater scheme of things.
>>
>> tfb
>>
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