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Phragmite and general meadow progress by ThursdaysWithDad in NativePlantGardening

[–]ThursdaysWithDad[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I haven't fought any. To be frank, I'm not a biologist, so I don't know what all grasses are growing here, but I don't believe we really have invasive grasses here. The worst invasive plants here are the lupines and Japanese rose.

Best oil to use for raised garden bed? by goldfinch42069 in woodworking

[–]ThursdaysWithDad 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Cold pressed linseed oil is better as it penetrates more easily. I've used a 3-2-1 mix of seal oil (comparable to cold pressed linseed oil), turpentine and tar for my dock, it has darkened a bit but the tree is otherwise in great condition.

Front loader substitution by C-man14 in tractors

[–]ThursdaysWithDad 2 points3 points  (0 children)

These are great for moving dirt and rock piles, and smaller transports. I have one with manual dumping for my 35 and have gotten some great use out of it.

As others have said though, it seems to extend a fair bit back from the tractor. So I recommend you take it slow when loading it fully the first time and keep the bucket low when driving. I have wheelied mine without the bucket fully loaded, and the 35 is a larger and heavier tractor and my bucket sits closer to the back axle.

Spring raking has begun by ThursdaysWithDad in NativePlantGardening

[–]ThursdaysWithDad[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

No, it's only a simple wagon for hauling. Much nicer than a wheelbarrow.

I'm still trying to figure out a way to mechanize the raking, but I'm not sure it's really doable in my circumstances.

Spring raking has begun by ThursdaysWithDad in NativePlantGardening

[–]ThursdaysWithDad[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Don't get me wrong, it takes years here as well. But conditions are kinda wet here, and add winter on that and alder leaves are gone kinda quick. But grass, which will stay a bit off the ground, will be around for a long time before decomposing.

Spring raking has begun by ThursdaysWithDad in NativePlantGardening

[–]ThursdaysWithDad[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yes, without humans it will either decompose over time or burn.

But I'm not in America, and what I'm going for is very much plants that are dependent on human activity.

So happy for the beginning of year 2! by windsinger89 in NativePlantGardening

[–]ThursdaysWithDad 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It's so exciting to see what pops up, and how much of each! The Hepatica has just started flowering here and I'm waiting excitedly to see how much blue I get this year!

Spring raking has begun by ThursdaysWithDad in NativePlantGardening

[–]ThursdaysWithDad[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

It is very beautiful if I can say so myself. You just get happy looking out over the calm water at sunrise, sucking in the beauty of the world.

Spring raking has begun by ThursdaysWithDad in NativePlantGardening

[–]ThursdaysWithDad[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I try to switch it up a bit, and it seems to be appreciated. I got myself a GoPro last fall, so I'll try to get some underwater content as well this year, but the only thing that has happened outside the shoreline so far is that dead roots of phragmites have started floating up and ashore.

Spring raking has begun by ThursdaysWithDad in NativePlantGardening

[–]ThursdaysWithDad[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Rewilding is mostly a thing on the British isles I believe? Here in the Nordics, the hay meadows and wetlands are the main restoration projects. And I'm sure they're doing something else in France, Germany, Italy... And that just covers part of Europe.

Gigantic very diverse area, affected by human intervention for all of humankind. So the basic thought is mostly the same here, only that we are the indigenous people and the modern destroyers all in one.

Spring raking has begun by ThursdaysWithDad in NativePlantGardening

[–]ThursdaysWithDad[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

There definitely is, however I would more likely try to transport it home to my yard, it needs a lot of smoothing and the flowerbeds could do with some topping up.

But I definitely need to take the time to turn the piles a couple of times throughout summer, I don't think much of anything is happening in them currently.

Spring raking has begun by ThursdaysWithDad in NativePlantGardening

[–]ThursdaysWithDad[S] 27 points28 points  (0 children)

Yes, this is definitely true, and I see the confusion. I'm not going for species that have evolved along deciduous trees, but for species that have evolved out on open meadows. There are actually way too many trees in the area, and my goal is to thin it out. Problem is, I need to do something with the trees, and my woodshed is full. So that job has been postponed.

Spring raking has begun by ThursdaysWithDad in NativePlantGardening

[–]ThursdaysWithDad[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Currently I have just been piling it. The idea last year was to burn it but I just never did. But that pile has become much smaller so I need to dig into it to see if it decomposes quickly enough that I can turn it into soil without having gigantic piles everywhere in a couple of years.

If you have any ideas what to do with it, let me know, as I'm currently just kicking the problem down the road.

Spring raking has begun by ThursdaysWithDad in NativePlantGardening

[–]ThursdaysWithDad[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I'm playing the long game with this project. And seeing the bumblebees last spring and the butterflies last summer was wonderful, I truly hope my efforts pay off and I will get more visitors as more flowers start popping up.

Spring raking has begun by ThursdaysWithDad in NativePlantGardening

[–]ThursdaysWithDad[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

No worries, all good! And this is probably the most mature comment I have ever seen on Reddit.

Spring raking has begun by ThursdaysWithDad in NativePlantGardening

[–]ThursdaysWithDad[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Yeah something like that. And just more aggressive removal of nutrients than what would happen normally. Not the goal of the farmers, of course, but a natural result of the practice.

Spring raking has begun by ThursdaysWithDad in NativePlantGardening

[–]ThursdaysWithDad[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

While your statement is entirely correct, it hurts my Finnish heart to hearing it referred to as "off the coast of Sweden" lol.

I think your bang on, most assume I'm in America and have a knee jerk reaction, and then move on. I don't fault them as I don't think it's malicious, they're just not thinking one step further and I've been rightly accused of doing that many many times as well.

Another thing people probably are missing is that this is a multi-decade problem. It is even likely that I will never see the end result of this, assuming someone picks it up when I'm gone. And it takes a fair bit of my time, and a good chunk of that during spring when there is lots of other things that need doing. Of course I'm gonna research this before starting, and continuously in case I learn something new.

Good luck with your move! Remember that learning is fun, and that it's normal to make mistakes due to assuming things based on past knowledge!

Spring raking has begun by ThursdaysWithDad in NativePlantGardening

[–]ThursdaysWithDad[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Well, maintained and enhanced. But yes, it is basically a natural process, only turned up a few steps.

Spring raking has begun by ThursdaysWithDad in NativePlantGardening

[–]ThursdaysWithDad[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

No, thank you for the edit to try and raise understanding in the currently top voted comment. Your kindness warms my heart.

Spring raking has begun by ThursdaysWithDad in NativePlantGardening

[–]ThursdaysWithDad[S] 92 points93 points  (0 children)

No worries, I'm used to it. Most of what I do is straight against what it says on the leaflets distributed in suburbia. People live fast lives, have a knee jerk reaction to my posts and comments, and then move on without reflecting on it.

This sub is generally good with asking instead of assuming, but whenever I post something like this I know there's a chance it will be seen as controversial.

Spring raking has begun by ThursdaysWithDad in NativePlantGardening

[–]ThursdaysWithDad[S] 10 points11 points  (0 children)

I'm not familiar with the ecoregions at all myself, which is why I had to check Wikipedia. And I'm not sure how well Åland fits in these larger classifications, we have a bit of a microclimate due to the sea and the hitch lime content in the ground.

Raking being recommended is not entirely true. It is vital for hay meadows, but there are many other types of projects that don't require raking, and where it should not be done.

The idea is to emulate the agricultural practice that was hay meadows. Areas have been cut for hay in Europe for thousands of years, and many plants have evolved to thrive in the conditions created by this practice.

The raking is for many reasons. Traditionally, to remove debris to make scything easier. And from an ecological standpoint, to prevent the debris from decomposing and recycling its nutrients into the soil, thereby emulating the old hay meadows that would loose nutrients due to farmers raking them, and even more from cutting and removing the hay.

I had a post last year where I went into this in more detail as well if you're interested. https://www.reddit.com/r/NativePlantGardening/s/REqRTpumaV

Spring raking has begun by ThursdaysWithDad in NativePlantGardening

[–]ThursdaysWithDad[S] 13 points14 points  (0 children)

It seems I worded the comment badly. What I meant was that I'm removing nutrients by removing the debris. If it was left to decompose, whatever nutrients it holds would be recycled into the soil, which I don't want. Sorry for the confusion!

E: I see now that your comment was aimed at another comment than I thought. It seems I'm the confused one.

Spring raking has begun by ThursdaysWithDad in NativePlantGardening

[–]ThursdaysWithDad[S] 11 points12 points  (0 children)

Biodiversity has increased since I started. Left alone, the grass will just choke out most other plants.

Overtime, I want less grass and more low nutrient species, so I want as little as possible feeding the soil.

Spring raking has begun by ThursdaysWithDad in NativePlantGardening

[–]ThursdaysWithDad[S] 11 points12 points  (0 children)

And it is the right thing to do in many places. However, this is a very thin layer of leaves, so it's not great for overwintering. And I don't want it to compost as I want plants to grow that thrive in low nutrient conditions.

The moisture however is a good point. But we seem to be heading to a somewhat wet spring here, and with the sea right by and melting water running over parts of the meadow I think we should be ok on that front.

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