What to do with cleared woodland patch? Woodland wildflower garden?
mdgoodw
last year
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clearing overgrown area, woodland paths...
Comments (9)The herbicides that you would MOST COMMONLY use work in such a way that they are absorbed through the live, green foliage of the plant and translocated internally throughout the plant tissues in order to kill it. It will not do any good for you to spray bark, dead tissues or soil around a plant. So at this time of year, the only thing you can do (and it will be worthwhile) is to manually cut and get rid of the plants that you don't want. In the spring, these plants will all put out a flush of growth that, at some point will slow down. Don't let any of them re-grow higher than your shoulders or they'll be too difficult to spray. Most weeds will be in the 2 to 4'-range when the flush of growth simmers down. This is when you should spray them with herbicide. The slowing growth is the clue that the above-ground foliage is in balance with the below-ground roots (growth energy.) There's sufficient foliage to absorb a lot of spray and do a lot of damage to the plant. After one week you can cut all the dead plants and remove them. You will see that many, or even most woody plants after a time (some weeks or a few months) will begin to re-grow new foliage. Again, let this foliage grow until there is enough of it to absorb a lot of spray. It's like the "spring flush of growth" but not as much. Then zap it again with the herbicide. Wait one week and cut and remove. There will probably be three of these "spray and cut" sessions during the first growing season. But you will see that by the end of summer you will be well on the way to controlling and eliminating all the undesired growth. There will be a few plants that will continue to battle you into the second growing season, but keep after them and you will win. When things begin to get under control, you can heavy mulch the ground to keep weed seeds from sprouting. The best source of free mulch (if you can get it) is tree trimming companies who need a place to dump shredded wood. To cut the unwanted, dead plants you'll need some stout loppers and a little folding pruning saw. Light duty loppers are worthless. Here, I'll go against the overwhelming preponderance of advice in print as I've used these tools for decades for my personal pleasure and professionally for many years and purchased them for maintenance crews. When I say I FAR PREFER I don't mean a little, but A LOT, the ANVIL type cutting heads (on the loppers and hand pruners) as opposed to the "bypass" type. Everything you read will say the opposite, but I can't believe these people are really using these tools all that much. Why? After a few cuts with the "bypass" type cutters, they begin to dull a little. As soon as this happens, the wood of the plant being cut has a tendency to pry and spread the cutting blades apart from each other. The wood (that's half cut) then jams and sticks tight in between the two blades. You have to stop working and clean out the wood. But it will happen on many of the following cuts, too. This can happen with a new tool in heavy use in less than a day. The ANVIL type just don't have this tendency. They cut and keep on cutting. They can be taken apart and the blades can be sharpened, too. It's easier as they're more or less straight. The "bypass" type are curved and more difficult to sharpen. However, the "bypass" type will be really great the day they're brand spanking new! I would suggest that if you don't already have a 4-gallon back-pack type sprayer, that you get one. The sprayers that you hold in your hand will rip your arm out of your shoulder socket before you get much work done. The back-packs can go all day... as long as YOUR back will hold up. People have the mistaken idea that Round-up kills everything. It doesn't. The most effective, readily available and cost effective weed killer is a combination of Glysophate (commonly sold as Round-up)... and one of the 2,4-d products (commonly sold as Weed-b-gone.) Either of these chemicals can be sold under various non-brand trade names and are usually cheaper that way. Mixed together at their full, regular strength, they will work well for general killing of most weeds. I use them in combo because otherwise, you find that you have to go back and spray a lot of things over when one herbicide didn't kill or maim it well enough. So it saves much time and effort. A few tips... don't spray when it's windy, but there will almost always be some slow breeze. Spray a swath while you walk backwards so that you're not walking in the spray and it's not blowing back on you. You can spray anything up to about the height of your shoulders (keep the pressure low when doing so) but not higher or you will eat it. So any weed or sapling that's higher must be cut down to that height or lower, first. In doing this type of work it's a good idea to know what poison ivy looks like. Even in the winter, ALL leafless parts of the plant are just as toxic as the leaves are in summer. (Unfortunately, I know this from personal experience having gotten a horrible case of it in the face in February once.) If you accidentally discover that you've run into it, there's no need to freak out. It takes some time for the offending oil to work its way into the skin. If you take a shower within a half-hour or so, you'll not suffer any ill effects. Of course, I can't say what the outer limit is on this window of time. Keep in mind that the toxic oil can spread from clothing to skin, so don't take a shower and then handle tainted clothing or tools....See MoreHAVE: got lotsa woodland wildflower seed
Comments (5)I seen that you don't have listed GW trade list from you GW profile? You should list all you have for trade and what you are looking for on your trade list. That way we can help you build up your garden,and ours. :) That way we know what we both have and looking for....See Moreclearing a bit of woodland
Comments (9)Leaves will rot. You may think a couple of feet is there, but I found that a spot where I used to dump fall leaves (for about 10 years), when I wanted to plant hostas in there, the leaves were only a few inches thick and the soil was wonderful. Over the years I probably dumped 10' of leaves in there, couple feet at a time. They turn to that wonderful, woodsy soil that grows beautful wildflowers. I cleaned out a small patch of woods over a space of 15 years or so, a little at a time, cutting out catbriar, wild blackberries, all kinds of saplings and a thick growth of honeysuckle. I hauled away the brush, cleaned out rusty car parts, glass, and broken skeet targets, and planted wildflowers, ferns, hostas, dogwoods, Japanese maples, redbuds, viburnums, and lots of other shade grden plants. I made paths, built brush-wood and gabion fences, stacked a brush pile for the wild critters, a small pond in the hole where a big tree fell, a dry creek; and I'm still working on it! It isn't an easy job or one you can do in a year or so, but I love my little woods now! Sandy...See MoreWhat marks the 'back' of your woodland garden?
Comments (25)Leaf mold, sounds like a friendly soil base for vine roots. A few shrubs can hide a good size pile of leaves, while it composts. Can you generate some heavy traffic on the paths, or try something root hostile? Fresh, pale, sawdust for the paths, say 4 to 6 inches deep, reduces the available nitrogen in the soil, and prevents growth. Add more as converient, for a year or two. In a year or two it rots and turns brown. Then, it is a great soil amendment, especially for clay. Some mills or lumberyards, will give it to you. Sounds like you would have to hire a young person with a truck though. The advantage is that, new, it prevents growth for a couple of years. Then, you remake the path, to one side of the old path, and can plant in the newly good soil. For huge vines,and shrubs, Think autumn ! We have cut a huge vine or two in the fall. It's very helpful, cut to 14" to 18". As soon as it shows new buds in the spring, cut it back hard. Their buds and energy storage are cut back severely. There was very little follow up growth. Someone may have put something on the stump, maybe vinegar, I don't know. Tall poisen ivy, multiflora roses, akebia quinata etc., hate being hacked in the fall. Don't warn vines or shrubs, with previous cuts, as they will ready buds. Cut in Sept-Oct at leaf-fall, and March at sprouting time. Very frequent cutting short, of some weeds, is right for them. It kills the giant polygonum here, and that spreads awfully underground. Since plants make their own food out of sunshine, you can deprive them of their leafy fuel engines. In 2 years.... A few taller plants near the front of the path, can create a sense of mystery. Ann Lovejoy is a great writer for garden planning. Have fun, what a wonderful challenge. Good luck, florey...See Moremdgoodw
last year
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