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Garden Gate:  Just Say 'No'(No Mow, that is!)  |
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Miss Bee Haven
True Blue Farmgirl
4331 Posts
Janice
Louisville/Irvington
Kentucky
USA
4331 Posts |
 Posted - Jul 23 2007 : 10:41:12 AM
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It's been a very dry summer here in Kentucky. I haven't had to mow at the farm for about seven weeks.  Yesterday, after a couple of good rains, I had to give in and get up on the tractor and mow. When we first bought our property, the weeds were of the large leaf, fairly tall variety - polk, dock, plantain...nothing attractive...not easy to deal with. So I just mowed it all down. And kept on mowing. At least about 8 or 9 acres, anyway. But yesterday, as I mowed like a robot, just automatically chugging along, I had an epiphany. Suddenly, I looked out over the field and SAW! Not just 'the light', but butterfiles. And wildflowers blooming everywhere. I hadn't mowed in so long, things had a chance to be in bloom. Chicory(and blue isn't the easiest flower color to find), white and pink clover, frost weed aster, Queen Anne's lace. My cow pasture had become a wildflower prairie meadow! I stopped mowing and parked the tractor near the trailer. I hunted down my dh and told him we need to stop the crazy and needless mowing. We are two people on 23 acres with about 2 or 3 acres of daylilies. Enough, already!  So, for the rest of this summer, at least, I will 'just say No Mow!'
"If you think you've got it nailed down, then what's all that around it?" - 'Brother Dave' Gardner |
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KYgurlsrbest
True Blue Farmgirl
4853 Posts
Jonni
Elsmere
Kentucky
USA
4853 Posts |
Posted - Jul 23 2007 : 11:00:42 AM
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What a great sight! I'm sure that was absolutely lovely.
DH and I were just talking about this yesterday--cutting down all the wild weeds that we have on our lower portion, keeping it mowed and starting new. He just wants to terrace it with stone walls.
Maybe I'll go down tonight and see if I see any butterflies!!!!
"She was built like a watch, a study in balance ... with a neck and head so refined, like a drawing by DaVinci"...
NY Newsday sportswriter Bill Nack describing filly, Ruffian. |
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Marybeth
True Blue Farmgirl
6418 Posts
Mary Beth
Stanwood
Wa 98292
USA
6418 Posts |
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AliShuShu
True Blue Farmgirl
150 Posts
Alison
Charlotte
NC
USA
150 Posts |
Posted - Jul 23 2007 : 1:10:24 PM
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i heard someone here in nc on npr talking about just this thing... asking folks not to mow if it wasn't needed... or if you must mow, to leave some areas on the edges of your yard unmown (is that a word???? haha). because the numbers of certain birds and insects and butterflies and the very important bees are decreasing in record numbers because their habitats are being "maintained".
of course, a lot of us who live within city limits are required to keep their lawn mowed and maintained... here in charlotte, they will actually issue a citation if the yard gets too out of control, so they were mostly speaking of people in more rural areas.
thanks for not mowing!
Alison
I think that if ever a mortal heard the voice of God it would be in a garden at the cool of the day. ~F. Frankfort Moore, A Garden of Peace
Namaste'
www.shumusings.com |
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Miss Bee Haven
True Blue Farmgirl
4331 Posts
Janice
Louisville/Irvington
Kentucky
USA
4331 Posts |
Posted - Jul 23 2007 : 1:59:18 PM
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That's interesting, Ali. Thanks for that info. And when I was pondering it on Saturday, I did decide to start leaving unmown(I like your word) areas even within tamer areas, as well as just not mowing the wildflower meadow. Sort of 'butterfly islands'.
"If you think you've got it nailed down, then what's all that around it?" - 'Brother Dave' Gardner |
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GaiasRose
True Blue Farmgirl
2552 Posts
Tasha-Rose
St. Paul
Minnesota
2552 Posts |
Posted - Jul 23 2007 : 2:08:19 PM
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We keep some of our grassy areas down, where we know there aren't things we will eat from the wild. It helps keep the bugs down. otherwise, we do not mow. I think the area we mow is not even really that big either. I have identified thus far, 36 things growing right in our immediate yard! Thats just amazing!! Not to mention everything in the woods that we have found and have yet to find ;) Don't you love what you find when you let things be the way they are suppose to be!?!
~*~Brightest Blessings~*~
Tasha-Rose
Blogs: http://gaiarose.wordpress.com
http://tasharose365.wordpress.com/
Homepage:
http://ForestFaeries.etsy.com
Birth is safe, interference is risky; TRUST BIRTH |
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therusticcottage
True Blue Farmgirl
4439 Posts
Kay
Vancouver
WA
USA
4439 Posts |
Posted - Jul 23 2007 : 2:23:24 PM
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Janice -- I can relate. We have a big field in front of our house. Just about the time the Queen Anne's lace and other wildflowers start blooming the landlord mows it down. I really wish that he'd just let "be". No mow is a great idea!
Visit my Etsy shop at http://www.therusticcottage.net
http://therusticcottage.blogspot.com |
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Miss Bee Haven
True Blue Farmgirl
4331 Posts
Janice
Louisville/Irvington
Kentucky
USA
4331 Posts |
Posted - Jul 23 2007 : 2:45:32 PM
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Yes, Tasha. I have mowed around a specific wildflower before(Moth Mullein). My dh will see this tiny thing blooming and by now he knows to 'let it be'. This time, when I got down off the tractor, I picked a nice wildflower bouquet, added some daylilies, and took it inside the trailer. My dh even admired how beautiful it looked.(the 'vase' it was in was a thrift store find - a clear glass lighthouse from a Red Lobster restaurant-LOL)
"If you think you've got it nailed down, then what's all that around it?" - 'Brother Dave' Gardner |
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Alee
True Blue Farmgirl
22941 Posts
Alee
Worland
Wy
USA
22941 Posts |
Posted - Jul 23 2007 : 9:43:58 PM
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I bet it is nice to have the wildflowers! How fun!
Alee
The amazing one handed typist! One hand for typing, one hand to hold Nora! |
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Amie C.
True Blue Farmgirl
2099 Posts
Finger Lakes Region
NY
2099 Posts |
Posted - Jul 25 2007 : 07:27:13 AM
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| It's always bothered me that my mother in law is so focused on keeping her country property mowed. She mows a lawn of about an acre around the cabin (needs to be done every two weeks in the summer) and also brush hogs a meadow of 2-4 acres every year. She always talks about the place as though it were a nature preserve, and yet she works so hard to keep nature from taking over. People only visit the place 3-4 times each summer these days. My husband and I would like to let it go, but the larger circle of family and friends see that as proof of our shiftlessness and lack of devotion to the family. Any opinions on this issue? |
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AliShuShu
True Blue Farmgirl
150 Posts
Alison
Charlotte
NC
USA
150 Posts |
Posted - Jul 25 2007 : 07:56:55 AM
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opinions, no, suggestions, perhaps...
have you asked her how she defines a nature preserve? maybe she thinks of nature as only the furry critters and feels that they don't need long grass to survive... maybe you can explain to her how important the grass and "so called" weeds are vital to many creatures and their survival as a species. my first thought was maybe she can mow a wide meandering path through the fields instead of mowing it all down to the ground.. that way folks could still walk through and might actually catch a glimpse of nature along the way...
it is the nature of humanity that we think differently from one another.. i consider it unfortunate that there are some that seem not to be able to look outside themselves to see the bigger picture. good luck!
Alison
I think that if ever a mortal heard the voice of God it would be in a garden at the cool of the day. ~F. Frankfort Moore, A Garden of Peace
Namaste'
www.shumusings.com |
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Miss Bee Haven
True Blue Farmgirl
4331 Posts
Janice
Louisville/Irvington
Kentucky
USA
4331 Posts |
Posted - Jul 25 2007 : 08:21:56 AM
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Ali - What you just posted is just what I've been thinking of as my game plan from now on. Part of our property is mowed once or twice a season by a friend who rakes, bales and feeds it to his cows over the winter. And since he only does that once or twice a season, that all blooms and goes to seed. But I am going to 'selectively mow' the rest and let the wildflowers, etc. have most of the rest.
Amie - maybe you could reference Ali's mention of the NPR program about the importance of habitat to endangered bees, insects, butterfiles, etc. Maybe get some internet research to back you up.
"If you think you've got it nailed down, then what's all that around it?" - 'Brother Dave' Gardner |
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AliShuShu
True Blue Farmgirl
150 Posts
Alison
Charlotte
NC
USA
150 Posts |
Posted - Jul 25 2007 : 08:35:46 AM
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here is an excerpt from an online article i found:
All gardeners interested in wildlife should consider allowing nature to cultivate a portion of their yard. Plants brought in as seeds by the animals using your yard will predominate in a natural patch, the ultimate in supply and demand. The two easiest forms of these gardens to incorporate are the "Weed Patch" and the "Meadow."
If you till the ground and do nothing else, a wide variety of plants will spring up, some planted by birds and others that have been lying dormant in the soil, often for decades. Tilling exposes them to light and breaks dormancy. Most of these plants are what scientists describe as early successional species; they are the first plants to move in after the ground have been disturbed. These plants are annuals. They grow, produce immense quantities of seed, and die in one season. The immense quantity of seed is what attracts birds. A "Weed Patch" will mature into a mix of herbaceous perennials over several years. Tilling will reset the clock.
A "Meadow" is a mix of herbaceous grasses and flowers, mostly perennial. A first step toward creating a meadow is to simply stop mowing a portion of your yard and see what comes up. Subsequently, gardeners can add seeds and small plants (plugs) to supply reliable color, or simply let wildlife plant the garden on its own. A meadow will need periodic mowing to keep it from succeeding into a forest. A late-w9inter mowing works well. Occasionally, a summer mowing may be needed also.
and a link to an informative article on the subject as well...
http://www.wvdnr.gov/Wildlife/Magazine/Archive/06Spring/wildyards.pdf
let us know how it turns out!
Alison
I think that if ever a mortal heard the voice of God it would be in a garden at the cool of the day. ~F. Frankfort Moore, A Garden of Peace
Namaste'
www.shumusings.com |
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Garden Gate: Just Say 'No'(No Mow, that is!) |
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Just Say 'No'(No Mow, that is!)
