permaculture

[lfl@intrex.net]

FranksFarm@aol.com wrote:

> I've already crenelated the edges, when I had the pond built, and the edges 
> were quite shallow. Over time the cattle stepping in and out seem to break 
> down some of the bank creating a shallow but steep edge.

> By the way...do you think bald cypress would be appropriate near the edge of 
> the pond? Also there are lots of willows on the property. Not sure which 
> kind...but they seem to be very brittle, prone to wind damage and short 
> lived. They do sucker profusely. And they are not weeping willows. 

Look in Gray's Manual of Botany or Wyman's Garden Encyclopedia for a 
list of wild and cultivated willows. You wild varieties will likely be 
in there. Thing is they are probably adapted to your climate and other 
local conditions though not particularly attractive. Add river birch
which is a wild variety of birch.

> In a message dated 8/20/02 3:42:17 PM, lfl@intrex.net writes:
>
> << Get out the backhoe-loader  and tractor equipped with a good, adjustable 
> blade or better yet, a Gill Rollover. >> 
>
> ROFL   I sure wish I had a backhoe. A dump truck too:) And a flat bed trailer 
> for hauling hay, and a heavy duty truck for pulling a load of hay etc.

You can create the swales I envisioned with an ordinary tractor and a 
bottom plow. If you have a scraper blade too, all the better, as you can
fine tune the shape and lay of it.

>   Many of the PC projects on farms of size require moving a lot of earth, 
> reshaping it etc.

Not always, see above.

> Unless you have lots of equipment or access to same, or money to spare many 
> of these projects get tabled due to expediency.

See above. Lots of farm projects can be done in ways that allow them to 
be incorporated into permaculture systems you'd like to have anyway.

> Much of the day is spent doing what needs to be done, and little time is 
> available for some of the PC type stuff that I'd really like to be doing:)

Sorry, no excuses allowed. :-)

LL

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lfl@intrex.net
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