by Winding Pathways | Jul 14, 2014 | (Sub)Urban Homesteading, Chickens, Garden/Yard, Mammals, Nature, Pests
The charming but pesky chipmunk is an amazing forager and storer of food.
Wildlife sometime create yard mischief. Raccoons, possums, and skunks tip over trash cans in the middle of the night. Chipmunks tunnel under walls, moles heap mounds of dirt. And woodchucks and cottontails raid the garden.
Damage, or perceived damage, often infuriates homeowners. Woodchucks have the uncanny ability to harvest lettuce the day before it is to be picked for an evening salad, and raccoons raid the sweet corn patch the moment ears are ripe. Moles hump up hills of dirt that lawnmowers hit, and skunks mine into the sod for grubs. What’s a homeowner to do?
WHY WILDLIFE CAUSE PROBLEMS
There’s no mystery to it. Wild animals are attracted to yards because they are comfortable places to live or find food. All living creatures need food, shelter and water to live. Yards frequently offer these basic needs all in proximity. Create a beautiful diverse yard and wildlife will enjoy it as much as people. In most cases people love seeing most species of wildlife in their yards, but often agree that they are best enjoyed in moderation.
THREE STEPS TO CONTROL GARDEN WILDLIFE DAMAGE
There are three ways to effectively overcome, or at least minimize, wildlife damage.
Homeowners differ in their strategy on how they weigh the benefits versus problems of wildlife in the yard.
Strategy One: Tolerate damage and enjoy wildlife.
It’s a state of mind that may require attitude adjustment. How important is a perfect lawn or head of cabbage, versus watching a cottontail mom peacefully nurse her babies on the edge of the law? How valuable is the beauty and inspiration gained from seeing chipmunks pack their cheeks with seeds and scamper across the yard versus the tunnels they make in retaining walls? For many people having beautiful and interesting wildlife out the window far outweighs damage they may cause.
We had a friend who grew a tiny garden with a few lettuce plants, a short row of string beans, and one hill of summer squash. When a cottontail devoured them she was incensed and declared war on bunnies. She bought traps but never managed to catch them. She built a fence but the lettuce thieves found their way under it. Her stress level rose as plants disappeared.
We suggested she might rely on simple arithmetic to solve her problem.
“Instead of spending about a hundred bucks on fencing and traps, wouldn’t it be simpler and cheaper to just buy lettuce, squash, and beans at the farmer’s market”, we asked her. She agreed. It took some mental adjustment, but now she buys locally grown vegetables and enjoys watching the cottontails that she once hated.
SOMETIMES IT’S BEST TO JUST IGNORE MINOR DAMAGE AND ENJOY WILDLIFE.
Strategy two. Preventing damage in the first place.
The saying, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure,” holds true for wildlife damage. In most cases homeowners can both enjoy wildlife and prevent or greatly reduce damage critters might do. Some simple ways to anticipate and reduce conflict include:
Fencing: Craft fences sturdy enough to keep rabbits and woodchucks out of the garden. Cottontails, for example can jump a long ways horizontally but not high vertically. An inexpensive 18 “ tall temporary fence of chicken wire will keep them out of the garden. Woodchucks are more challenging, as they are expert diggers and climbers. A garden fence needs to extend below the ground to keep them out and needs to be at least three or four feet tall. Watch for more fencing specifics in future editions of Winding Pathways website.
Securing: Store trash cans inside the garage with the door closed to keep raccoons from tipping it over. Better yet, compost food scraps and don’t put anything in the can that will interest wildlife. Composting turns waste into a wonderful resource that improves the soil. Don’t let the trash man cart it away. Some people who prefer not to add meat scraps to the compost bin, feed them to a small flock of chickens or simply put them on the edge of the yard in the evening for the raccoons to devour. No more tipping over the trash can.
PREVENTION IS A KEY
Strategy three: Killing the offending animal.
Often people resort first to killing an animal. However killing a few woodchucks, raccoons, moles, or chipmunks will not solve damage problems. These animals are in the yard because they find perfect conditions there to live. Remove a few and others will move in. Keep killing and you’ve created a wildlife death trap.
Sometimes it is necessary to kill an animal. Upcoming issues of Winding Pathways will feature tips on how to eliminate problem animals.
by Winding Pathways | Jul 14, 2014 | (Sub)Urban Homesteading, Garden/Yard, Nature
In this herbicide and mower age too many people believe the perfect lawn is a deep green monoculture of Kentucky bluegrass with nary a weed. They mow, spray, fertilize and fuss if they see a blade of grass out of place. It’s as if the lawn is an extension of the living room carpet.
Now comes the irony. The people who create these picture perfect lawns seem to spend their summer inside. Maybe that’s because perfect lawns are boring! They certainly are sterile.
There’s an old saying that the more money and effort invested in the perfect lawn the more problems will occur. And, that is true. Find a bare patch, a dandelion, or compacted grass and some lawn care company or garden store is ready to sell chemicals and seeds to cure it
Winding Pathways thinks differently. To us the perfect lawn is a vibrant place filled with life. Rather than a monoculture it’s an ever changing blend of many plant species that supports a diversity of fascinating animal life. It is a place governed by nature’s laws that entice the owner to go outside, look, listen, and learn the many lessons nature teaches to any observant person. Even the tiniest urban lawn offers its owner a free ecological education – while saving money. The ecological lawn is diverse, dynamic, colorful, inexpensive, and ecologically healthy.
Lawns are human manipulated ecosystems, but nature takes over the moment the mower is stowed in the garage. Nature loves diversity. Ecological conditions on even the tiniest lawn vary from place to place because the soil here may be very different from the soil a few feet away. Maybe it’s shady here. But sunny there. Here it gets lots of foot traffic. There it doesn’t. Here it gets lots of water. Just over there it bakes in the sun.
No single plant species is adapted to thrive in such varied conditions. To create a monoculture lawn requires defying nature.
Diversity is stability’s key. Our lawn hosts at least 30 plant species. Each is adapted to slightly different ecological conditions. If August brings blistering heat and drought, dry loving species spread, while moisture lovers fade. Switch the conditions and the plants shift. Always changing. Sometimes puzzling but always interesting.
No two seasons are ever identical so it’s impossible to know in advance what the growing season will bring. A diverse lawn is well buffered and prospers no matter what happens. Some plants will grow without benefit of irrigation, fertilizer, or pesticides! People may call them “weeds”, but we call “mother nature’s stitches.”
Just as weather varies, so does soil. Some lawn species enjoy rich loose topsoil, while just a few feet away others struggle to thrive in rocky, sandy, compacted, or simply infertile soil. Those plants most adapted to each particular soil condition will dominate in its tiny lawn microhabitat and no single species is likely to ever prosper across a lawn in the complex mix of changing weather and varied soil.
Modern housing developments are often created by scraping off topsoil and compacting subsoil under the wheels of construction equipment. To make the home look good, builders apply a veneer of sod on awful soil and hope the house sells soon. Usually the grass of choice is Kentucky bluegrass, a species native to cool moist Europe, not late summer American droughts. Nature responds by introducing dozens of species of better-adapted plants to diversify and buffer the lawn. Sadly, too many people call them weeds and persecute them, creating an endless need to spray and water to maintain an ecologically unhealthy lawn.
The healthy lawn isn’t uniform. Its texture varies depending on the blend of plant species living from spot to spot. It will probably have white clover that adds nitrogen to the soil and allows kids to make fun clover chains. It might have some a purslane or two, which make delicious eating. Probably will have common plantain, a harmless plant brought to North America from England. Every weed has its place, its story, and usually a benefit for people.
Allowing a lawn to diversify itself offers homeowners a chance to see nature at work as plant species change from season to season and year to year. A close observer receives an ecological education while saving money otherwise spent on water and chemicals.
#
by Winding Pathways | Jul 14, 2014 | (Sub)Urban Homesteading, Flowers/Grasses, Foraging, Nature
Dandelions by the millions pop up like magic in lawns, along roadsides, and just about anywhere else that sunlight reaches bare soil. They are probably the most recognized and widespread plants in the world.
A Eurasian native, dandelions reached North America as precious garden seeds brought across the ocean by our earliest immigrants. They began spreading across the continent before the Revolutionary War. For thousands of years people appreciated the dandelion’s culinary and medicinal properties. Its Latin name, Taraxacum officinale, means “official remedy for disorders.” Imagine living in Europe during the Dark Ages. Winters were cold and dark. Diets were monotonous and lacked vitamins. By late winter many people suffered severe vitamin deficiencies. They were weak, lethargic and vulnerable to fatal diseases. Then, with the first few warm days vitamin rich dandelions began growing. People ate them and vitamin deficiencies evaporated. This humble plant restored health. No wonder immigrants carried dandelion seeds across the ocean when they immigrated to the New World! How ironic that a plant that can do no harm to humans and once provided important food and medicine is today hated. If dandelions were finicky and needed special cultivation and care maybe homeowners would appreciate them! Children love bright yellow dandelion flowers and delight in blowing seeds off the puffy sphere that follows the bloom. Instead of persecuting dandelions perhaps we’d all be better off it we took a lesson from kids and just enjoyed them.
Why Dandelions Invade Lawns
In order to thrive in a lawn, dandelions need two conditions: a scrap of bare soil and sunshine. When meticulous homeowners attempt to create a monoculture lawn by mowing closely, removing lawn clippings, and aerating the soil they create perfect growing conditions for dandelions. Fluffy dandelion parachutes carry millions of dandelion seeds through the air which land nearly everywhere. If growing conditions are not good where the seed lands it won’t thrive. But if the seed has the good fortune to descend onto a closely cropped lawn, it will quickly sprout and flower to the consternation of the owner. They poison and dig out the dandies and mow the lawn to the nubbin, creating more perfect conditions for new seeds to sprout. Dandelions are probably the world’s best plant for the herbicide industry!
Reducing Dandelion Populations in an Ecological Lawn
A nonsprayed lawn is always likely to have a few dandelions, but the best to manage a lawn to reduce plant numbers is to keep the ground shady and avoid bare soil. Follow these easy steps:
- Avoid herbicides.
- Set the mower cutting depth high to allow grass to grow tall, shading the soil beneath. Mow as infrequently as possible. Leave clippings in place and never remove “thatch.”
- Avoid bare soil whenever possible.
- Eat them. Dandelions are good food!
- Let kids pick the flowers.
Eating Dandelions
Timing is the secret to enjoying this nutritious plant. Most people know dandelions can be eaten. But, the few adventurous people who have tried them often are repelled by the plant’s bitterness. Dandelions, like most other edible greens, are best when the leaves are very young. Pick them in early spring just after they’ve started growing. Bitterness sets in as the leaves mature and the weather turns hot. The best dandelions were covered by leaves in the fall and are semi-blanched when picked in spring. Mix cleaned baby dandelion leaves into salads for a peppery zing or boil as a potherb. Young leaves are best and require the least amount of work. Steam them changing the water twice. Season with butter, salt and pepper as desired. Some folks toss the greens with chopped bacon. They are tasty. Older dandelion leaves can also be eaten but must be cooked in several changes of water to remove the bitterness. Gather mature leaves. Bring a saucepan of water to a boil and put the washed leaves in. Boil for a few minutes while bringing another saucepan of water to a boil. Remove the leaves from the first pot, drain, and add them into the clean boiling water. It may take two or three water changes, but eventually the bitterness will disappear. Season as desired. Dandelion roots are also edible and can be made into a coffee-like substitute. Consult a wild foods book for details.
by Winding Pathways | Jul 14, 2014 | (Sub)Urban Homesteading, Flowers/Grasses, Garden/Yard, Nature
Hot moist weather is a boon to crabgrass. This European native was brought to America centuries ago and is a hated lawn and garden weed.
Crabgrass is an annual that sprouts as soon as moist soil reaches about 60 degrees. It dies at first frost but not before producing thousands of seeds that persist in the soil a long time waiting for proper growing conditions. Rapidly growing crabgrass can quickly overwhelm a vegetable garden or make a lawn look splotchy.
Crabgrass grows close to the ground. When its nodes touch the soil they quickly take root, enabling the plant to rapidly expand outward. Homeowners seeking the perfect lawn ironically create perfect growing conditions for the weed. Because it hugs the ground close mowing stresses desirable grass species while favoring prostrate crabgrass. Shallow watering also helps the shallow rooted annual.
Crabgrass comes with benefits. It reduces erosion by quickly covering bare soil, and many species of domestic livestock and wildlife enjoy munching its leaves. Some wild animals enjoy its plentiful seeds.
Herbicides can reduce crabgrass abundance but it’s virtually impossible to eliminate it from a lawn or garden. Hand pulling will keep it away from tomatoes and beans, and setting the mower higher may reduce its lawn abundance.
When you find crabgrass in your yard consider this: Crabgrass is like Mother Nature’s stitches. Severely cut your hand or leg and the doctor will hold the wound closed with stitches. When homeowners bare the soil, they make it vulnerable to erosion. Think opening a wound. Enter crabgrass. It grows amazingly fast on bare soil and keeps it in place during heavy rains. Crabgrass has its place in nature, and we should all appreciate those plants able to quickly colonize and stabilize soil.
