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Posted by Chris Lewis on May 17, 2006, 12:09 am
> > Plant trees. Less effort in the long run, far more effective
> > in producing privacy (and sound deadening).
> > [10 acres, less than 1/4 acre needs to be mowed.]
> That is what my retirement house is gonna be- not visible from the the road.
> Only lawn will be a small patch up at the road so you can non-blindly pull
> into traffic, and a firebreak around the house, so the place gets enough
> sunlight to not go moldy on me. (Houses that never see sunlight always reek
> like a cabin, in my experience....) But I'll look for a place where the
> trees are already there- with my non-green thumb, trying to keep plants
> alive is expensive, pointless, and downright depressing....
For some strange reason, cutting down everything on the property
is a rather common trait in home building. Then you have to buy
back your own topsoil...
It's a good idea to consider "filling in" gaps etc., as part
of good management practises.
If you can find a source of seedling trees (eg: a reforestation
nursery), particularly conifers, you can plant a lot for cheap,
and they usually require _no_ maintenance.
Back in '93, we bought 250 white pines for about $50 and planted
them ourselves. Now some of them are >30', we've had <5% failure,
and we haven't done a _thing_ to maintain them.
Back in 2000 we did it again with about 600 trees (white pine,
red pine, red oak and some shrubs) - about $170 worth of trees
and another $150 worth of teenage labor ;-)
[An experienced seedling planter can do well over 100 trees
an hour - in fact, a _good_ one up to about 400/hour depending
on site conditions.]
Deciduous trees need a bit of assistance, and as a result of not
giving them very much, they didn't do that well (70% failure
rate is not considered unusual). But the pines are doing
extremely well (<10% loss).
[The nursery used to be an arm of the provincial government, which
was subsequently "sold" to the employees, and now they run it.
They'll even send someone out to help you plan out what/how much
to buy.]
--
Chris Lewis, Una confibula non set est
It's not just anyone who gets a Starship Cruiser class named after them.
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Posted by Goedjn on May 17, 2006, 11:03 am
>
>If you can find a source of seedling trees (eg: a reforestation
>nursery), particularly conifers, you can plant a lot for cheap,
>and they usually require _no_ maintenance.
>
On the other hand, walnut or beech trees will feed you in
your dotage, and help put your grandchildren through college,
so plant a mix. And *NOBODY* plants boxwood for
lumber anymore. :-(
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Posted by digitalmaster on May 18, 2006, 8:03 pm
>
>>
>>If you can find a source of seedling trees (eg: a reforestation
>>nursery), particularly conifers, you can plant a lot for cheap,
>>and they usually require _no_ maintenance.
>>
>
> On the other hand, walnut or beech trees will feed you in
> your dotage, and help put your grandchildren through college,
> so plant a mix. And *NOBODY* plants boxwood for
> lumber anymore. :-(
>
especially black walnut.
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Posted by Ether Jones on May 16, 2006, 11:48 pm
<<a jungle or a hayfield>>
Just let it grow for 5 years. Then rent a self-propelled walk-behind
high-powered brush mower (at least 30" cut with 17HP or better motor)
and clear out all the weeds and bramble and smaller trees. Make a few
wide paths that can be maintained with a riding mower.
I did this on 5 acres of my property and it looks great. Some of the
trees are 18' tall after only 5 years. What a view from the bay
window. In the middle I made a small clearing for a secluded picnic
area surrounded by Honeysuckle and Serviceberry and Russian Olive.
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Posted by Goedjn on May 16, 2006, 12:07 pm
On Mon, 15 May 2006 20:44:20 -0500, Richard J Kinch
>Steve B writes:
>
>> You could have more grass.
>
>A lawn is the price of some privacy from the rest of the world. More lawn
>is more privacy, but the area grows as the square of the separation
>distance.
That's insane. A HEDGE is the price of privacy.
The lawn should be big enough to serve as a fire-break
and any yard-based games/work you've got to do,
and beyond that should be gardens, orchards, meadow,
ponds, tree-farm, or something. Large expanses of
lawn are a symptom of an ego problem, a paucity
of imagination, or someone who needs a clear field
of fire.
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