Outdoor Power Equipment (Lawn Mowers, Snow Blowers, Chain Saws and more) Discussions

hi guys...

this is kinda out there so if necessary remove it .

im in the process of cleaning up my property now that its spring here.

i have next to no landscaping as yet.

my driveway is pretty good but thats it,basically i have 4 acres of trees.lots of hardwood and softwood.

i have been removing as much of the dead and hard looking trees and thinning out the rest.

its starting to look kinda park like.

i have lend of a huge wood chipper that i have been putting all the brush and tops into.ill post pics of it in action later

i save the big stuff for firewood.

anyway i have been wondering that once i get done should i plant grass between the trees or just let it grow up into ferns and other woodsy stuff.i plan to try to average 10 or so feet between the trees,this will encourage them to grow tall and allow me room to work around them.

when i started you could hardley walk between them

i should mention that i dont like mowing lawns but i do have a good variety of riders and tractors at work i could use.

and i really hate pushing a mower. 

thanks for any input ...

later chris

Here's a little of what the yard looks like. (boy I love high speed internet!)

This is from the back looking out.  There's always water running through there.

This is looking off to the side of the driveway.  There's about 4 acres of that.

And this is the rock work that he does.  He plans to have rock borders everywhere.

So as you can see there's a lot of work to make a lawn that would look nice, but not so much work to have a yard without grass.  You can plant flowers and shrubs here and there and not have to worry about mowing around or over them and they will pretty much look after themselves.  In the back where the water is always running we plan to have a pond on the lower side of the road (top pic to the right).  So that will be nice.

Sherri

Not sure about where you live, but when a friend of mine in NH had this situatuin the county agricultural agent came by and marked the trees he should take out.

We're in Nova Scotia.  He's thinning the dead and softwood out to allow the hardwood to 'thicken' up.  There are a lot of forestry rules and regulations around here, but they never really bother the home owner too much yet.  As long as there are spots for the wild life to live and you don't go too close to the water - everything should be fine.  We have some of the toughest laws for woodsmen/women that's going.  Safety rules are crazy strict and for those that are in the business - well I pity them.  But the home owner has general reign over his own land, so he'll thin out what he wants and hopefully the hardwood will grow to their full potential, not stay spindly little trees.

Sherri

If that was my area I would mulch it and plant some nice plants and put some nice large rocks. less work for you and it will look nice.  MissSnowshoveler wrote:

Oh yeah, did I forget to mention that he has the use of a chipper that will chip wood the size of telephone poles?  The chips aren't prime mulch material, but they do make the place smell nice.

They will be great for filling in holes and making walking trails.

Sherri

Sherri

The land is gorgeous.  I like the rock borders.  Is he using all lannon stone or a variety of rock?   I would think because of the amount of shade, no matter what kind of grass you put in there, its going to look thin and scraggly.  I would think the shrubs and flowers (are you going to put in more of the wildflowers?) you put in would look so much nicer and more natural to the land.  Just my $.02 for what its worth. 

Are those pines Jack pines on the land?  We had a couple of Jack pine trees in the old house and I didn't realize how rare they were for our area until the WI Electric guy clued me in. 

What kinds of peppers do you plant?  I had hot banana peppers (hot Hungarian wax, I believe), sweet banana peppers, sweet bell peppers, serranos, jalapenos and finger chili (long, red chili peppers).  What kind of tomatos do you plant?  I had good luck with the Beefsteak and the Romano (though the romanos weren't as hardy). 

Paula

Paula,

For the rock borders, he's using whatever rock he finds on the land.  There's a lot of slate and that splits easily so a big piece goes along way.  I plan to sprinkle wild flower seeds everywhere I can, I'm just waiting for the go ahead from Chris.  Not much sense to plant flowers if he's going to travel over it with the monster tractor.

I really haven't looked at what peppers he picked out.  All I know is that there are 30 of the plants sitting in the computer room in the window.  They are patiently waiting for fine weather to be moved outdoors.  By the sounds of the weather around here - they may be waiting for awhile yet.

As for the pine trees - they are white pines.  Chris says they are going to be dead pines when he gets the power saw to them.  He refers to them as paint peelers.  Me I like the pine, but am more fond of the oaks, maples and birches.  The leaves are not nice to rake up in the fall or anytime (they've never been rakes before) and there is at least an inch or more of heavy, soggy, rotten leaves that need to be moved.

Sherri

MissSnowshoveler wrote:

Sherri

I think the slate looks nice for the color and makes it easy for stacking.   Will it hold up over time?  Would just hate to see him go to the effort of doing it and have it not last.  As kids we picked rocks and hauled in the wheelbarrow (sp?) to build a stone border around the front of the property.  My mom is still in the house and rock border is still there.  To me it really gives the place charm. 

For the tomatoes, I don't know if you do canning but it goes a lot quicker to freeze them...just throw them in ziplocks and then when you want to use them, run them under warm water and the skins peel right off.  

I like pines....I love the smell of them.  Its nice to have a variety of trees....looks pretty in the fall.  Those rotten leaves would make great compost if you get them piled up for your garden.  Just a thought.

Sounds like some fun projects ahead for you two .  Enjoy! 

The first set of walls held up real well over this past winter.  He's using gravel in between the layers to aid in drainage.  Hopefully they hold up for a long time.

I'm not quite sure what we'll be doing with the tomatos.  I'm still trying to figure out what we'll do with all the peppers.

We have been filling in some holes here and there with the multitude of leaves, and then covering them over with soil.  The holes will come back over time, but for now let the leaves fertilize.

I'm so looking forward to the finished product.  I can't wait.  He says he's going to try to get the rock wall around the flower garden this week, so I can get it ready for the flowers.  I know I want snowball bushes, lilacs, and holly bushes.  But that will all come in time.  I have to stop looking in the seed catalogues.  Too many ideas.

Sherri

MissSnowshoveler wrote:

Sherri

You chose two of my favorites...lilacs and snowball bushes...they both smell wonderful and are so lush and pretty.  I've seen lilacs when I've been driving that are a really deep purple that I think are so gorgeous, especially if they are planted next to the white lilac bushes.  I don't know anything about the holly. 

I love looking in the seed and plant catalogs.....there are so many pretty bushes and flowers....and tasty looking veggies and fruit trees,...and, and...LOL