guildfordcycads

I’ve got a 1000 sq ft paddock that was formerly my sheep’s sacrificial Winter lot. In the grazing months I grew sunflowers. The sheep are now gone (change in my availabile labor hours), so year 1 I planted pumpkins and corn in addition to the sunflowers. In year 2, the weeds outpaced my crops, and now in mid August I’ve got thick variety of weeds 5 ft high, no pumpkins or corn, and only a handful of sunflowers. I had mowed the weeds to the ground when I did my direct sowing, but it seems the weeds outcompeted the crops.

I’m familiar with cardboard and wood chips methods, but not sure how you do that with directly sowing beneath.

How do you reclaim pasture for annual crops without tilling?

I have a small piece of land which I only visit a couple of times a year. I mostly let everything grow and try to facilitate the growth of trees (mostly alder, ash and oak) that sprout there naturally as much as possible, while occasionally planting some edible or usable plants. Everything very low stakes, what works works and what doesn’t doesn’t.

The only thing that really grinds my gears is the massive infestation that is blackberries which comes back immediately always, even after painstakingly uprooting them.

What I really don’t like about this is my frustration and the destructive energy with which I approach them. I realize that even the Dalai Lama squats the odd mosquito out of annoyance, but I nevertheless feel there must be a healthier way to look at it. I can’t imagine the old celts or germanics (I live in germany) would have that same attitude.

Do you have any insights or perspectives or can recommend any literature?

Busco gente Talavera de la reina y alrededores gente interesada en el mundo de la permacultura más bien que les guste la naturaleza

I planted a few vines last year in the corner of my yard…. Some have (sharp) thorns, some are thornless.

I’ve been out of town all summer and came home to this…. It’s blowing up

How do blackberries grow? What vines should I cut down and back?

Advice for staking these out to make it more manageable and accessible?