guildfordcycads

Hello everyone.

I live on my off-grid property which consists of 1 hectare of grassland/pasture surrounded by 3 hectares of woodland.

I have a small orchard and a vegetable garden along the edge of the pasture, but I let most of the space do its thing. My pasture is incredibly biodiverse, with dozens of different grass species and wildflowers. It really is quite a sight especially in spring, combined with a million pollinators and birds. I let everything go to seed so that new plants can get established over time.

One a year, usually in October, I have a friend come in with his tractor and shredder to make it all nice and neat again. The shredded material is left in place to slowly decompose over the winter and nourish the soil. Also, that helps me get rid of unwanted shrubs that will inevitably grow each year all over the place.

My neighbor asked me if he can come in to make hay bales out of my grass this summer, and I am not sure about that. On one hand, that would help me keep the place nicer and cleaner, but on the other I am afraid my land will be “robbed” of its crop without anything going back in to nourish the soil. I don’t have any grazing animals that would fertilize the soil, and because he asks me every year, I am worried about soil health in the long run.

What’s your take on this? Am I worrying needlessly as grass will always thrive no matter what, or do I have a point? Also, with my yearly shredding, we’re talking ONE heavy machine treading on my land only once a year. With hay making, a tractor needs to come in multiple times to cut, turn over, collect into swaths, forming and picking up bales, plus I would still have to do the shredding since my neighbor won’t get at the toughest corners of my place where most shrubs tend to grow.

It is Autumn here in the Southern hemisphere and I have been letting leaves from our deciduous trees (oak and beech) fall (or blow) onto our garden beds. I’m trying to follow the wisdom to leave the leaves for our critters and let the leaves nourish the soil.

However I read some advice stating that too thick of a layer can be problematic and prevent moisture reaching the soil and restrict air flow.

Is this really something to worry about? Should I be managing the depth of the leaves or just let nature do its thing as it always has?

Cheers

I’ve been experimenting with growing fruit trees in containers, and mangoes have been one of the trickiest — they can get massive if you pick the wrong variety.

I came across a breakdown of three dwarf/patio mango varieties that are supposed to do really well in pots without going wild in size

Hi everyone! I’m currently helping lead a small environmental awareness project at a public elementary school and nearby park in northern Mexico. As part of this, we’re organizing a tree planting activity with kids aged 6 to 13, and we’d love to make it fun, memorable, and meaningful.

One idea we’re already planning is this:
👉 After planting several trees, we’ll invite all the children to “adopt” one special tree and give it a name together. That one tree will represent the whole school’s commitment to caring for the environment, and they’ll help water and take care of it over time.

We’re also thinking of running a quick “clean-up race” where kids get small prizes if they pick up recyclable trash (bottles, cans, wrappers) and bring it to a bin.

💡 Do you have any ideas for fun, educational, and simple environmental activities or games we could do with kids this age?
We don’t have a big budget, but we can give small prizes like stickers, fruit, or little notebooks.

Can activities include some symbolic gestures? Emotional connection to nature? Hands-on tasks?
Would love to hear what’s worked for others or what you’d love to see in a school setting. Thanks in advance for your creativity and experience!

For some reason I thought comfrey was NA native, so I wasn’t too concerned at grabbing some free plants and root cuttings from someone local. Well it’s not, and I don’t really want to spread invasives. I have it in a pretty isolated garden bed right now, but should I:

just rip them carefully out and start fresh?

Wait till they seed and try and germinate some to see if they’re sterile

Somehow identify the strain via photos or some sort of tells?

Thanks for helping a fledgling gardener.

I’m also using fresh yarrow (leaves and roots) and dried chicory leaves from last year as mulch around my trees, veggies, and native plants. Is there any reason not to?