guildfordcycads

I live in the PNW and have a small pond, about 40-50 feet across. It’s shaded, protected by trees, has tall aquatic grasses on one side, and plants ducks usually like. But alas….no ducks! I have lived in this house for 5 years now and never seen any visit. What can I do to attract more ducks to my pond?

Some context:

The area where I live is very biodiverse, and has a large population of ducks (various species).

I live very close to the ocean shore

My property is mostly forest

I am removing invasive plants from a patch next to my driveway to replant with native perennials and vegetables. Would it make sense to shred the vines and use the chips as mulch or am I risking a further spread? They don’t seem to bear seeds of any kind. Most of it is wisteria and greenbrier.

Update: I’ve decided I’m going to burn the vines to avoid any unwanted spread. Thanks for the replies everyone!

I moved to a 5 acre home that was left abandoned for many years. The entire lot was vines about 10 feet tall surrounding the home.

We spent a weekend with chainsaws, gas hedge trimmers, metal weed eating it all down. Then mulched everything with a riding mower. And hauled the rest off.

But this leave a question for the roots, yes they will keep growing back but new growth will be easier to remove than the 10ft high 5acre lot of vines that previously resided.

If we just keep grass mowing the lot on a routine schedule will this kill off the roots in the long term? Wasting out root reserve energy. Even if this takes years, as grass cutting is routine.

It’s also invasive where I live with the county encouraging removal. The end goal does include more than just grass on the property, but these vines need addressed first.

I’m planning on turning a large portion of my mango orchard and converting it into a food forest. I live in a tropical environment where we have a wet and dry season. With an abundance of rain during the wet season. Are swales necessary when we receive this much rain normally? Does significant mulching make more sense?

Morning. We are looking into expanding our vegetable garden area this spring and summer for either next year or this coming fall.

In the past, we’ve accomplished this cheap and dirty- made raised terraces with whatever we can find around the property and dumped pure compost. Cheap and easy from the dump. High nitrogen consumers first year. Wait.

We’ve gotta get something going for rotation purposes right? I figure it’s time. This will be the 3rd summer. I am contemplating daikon radish and possibly sunflowers. However, not sure what to do once these plants are established.

I know the sunnies can affect the soil and other plant growth. Do I rip them at the end of their season? Do I pull the daikon when they’re done? We generally attempt no-till with established rows and top dressing.

Also, looking to bring in amended soil for the new terraces ON TOP of the soil breakers. Any advice would be wonderful as this would be new to me.

Zone 8. A steep hill. Rocky soil- teaming with life just harsh. It’s a crystal mine! Former “dog kennel” (enough time has passed.) Also down hill from a natural spring seep area. Tilling the bottom first is NOT an option. Well-water. Southeast facing. All the wildlife.

Alright, so whenever I hear about “permaculture” I always hear about swales and polycultures and food forests and so on and so on. It’s not like I have any problem with all of this (I think a career in this sort of design might be fun), it’s just that I was wondering if permaculture was just a method to design food forests or if there’s anything else. It seems like YouTube and other online media focus on either food forests for large-scale areas and teensy-weensy little flower gardens for suburban backyards.