Diane Kistner

I live in the Saxon Woods subdivision in Athens, GA, on Frederick Drive, a small suburb rendered quite sleepy and almost pastoral by the years-ago closure of a "short-cut" through-road cutting across from Vincent Drive to Newton Bridge Road. There is a gas easement behind our house, and I recently learned that a group of folks have purchased about 45 acres along the Vincent side of the closed road and near the easement for development of an ecovillage. I wrote our county commissioner about how this project will affect the road closure/opening.

I'm wondering if anyone here is involved in this project? I'm working on building a forest garden in my backyard, and I'm of course quite excited to know that some like-minded folk have plans close to me. (Don't want them to open up the through road, though...that would invite way too much traffic through our neighborhood!) I'd love to hear from you if you're involved, here or via purple mooseage. Also, I hope members of the group will join Nextdoor.com and share with the neighborhood what the hopes and dreams are for this project.

I emailed our county commissioner to see what I could learn, and this was his response:

This project is really in its infancy and, outside of the land being purchased, there are no concrete plans at this point. If there is a proposal to open the other end of Frederick Drive it will be well studied for feasibility and traffic impact on Saxon Woods and Vincent Drive. I spoke with one of the individuals involved this week and it seems they are a ways off from moving ahead on anything at this point but if they do I will certainly reach out to the Saxon Woods community and get input!

Thank you,
Tim Denson

District 5 County Commissioner

Athens-Clarke County Unified Government

Jay Angler wrote:

Diane Kistner wrote:

Nancy Reading wrote:An old biro embosses this nicely.  The label then stays with the plant as it is transplanted (and more labels made), just pushed into the ground closeby.

What is a biro? I'm looking at different metal stamping and embossing thingies on Amazon and just wondering what folks might recommend for easily making labels from strips cut from aluminum cans.

Ladislao Biro invented the ball-point pen, so many countries in the world (except notably the USA) refer to pens as "biros".

Oh! Okay thanks for that explanation Jay. I don't think a ballpoint pen would be strong enough to write on an aluminum can strip, though. I was looking at those alphabetical metal stamping kits, but then I started imagining how long it would take to make labels and thought better of it.

Nancy Reading wrote:An old biro embosses this nicely.  The label then stays with the plant as it is transplanted (and more labels made), just pushed into the ground closeby.

What is a biro? I'm looking at different metal stamping and embossing thingies on Amazon and just wondering what folks might recommend for easily making labels from strips cut from aluminum cans.

Anne Miller wrote:Wow, you recognized the author of those quotes!

Actually, I just now looked at your signature line.... I've acquired six of his books over the years, the latest his Herbal Antivirals one. Which are your favorites, Anne?

Anne Miller wrote:Diane, I can understand how the word "invasive" is scary.

Look at my signature for my opinion of invasives.

This might also help:

Jay said "The new wild : why invasive species will be nature's salvation by Fred Pearce  He makes a strong case for invasive plants invading because the ecosystem is out of balance due to human activity

https://permies.com/t/134666/Native-prof-Don-fight-invasive#1054905

Stephen Herrod Buhner values invasives, so I've tried to keep an open mind. Thanks for posting this Fred Pearce article! Going to read it now.

Thanks, everyone, who has answered so far. I'm feeling encouraged that I'm doing the right thing, not the wrong thing.

I've gone from about a half acre of dense English ivy and poison ivy under mostly pines to cleared area that's been lightly mulched with cardboard, leaves, and woodchips, now rotting away, leaving some bare ground. Mock strawberry is what naturally wanted to cover this ground, and it's been very helpful to me in keeping weeds knocked back as I work on sections of the garden. But it's a big job for a little old lady like me who has no help.

I've been encouraging the mock strawberry to take over areas and even digging and moving some of it into pathways. I have questions:

1. What effect will this boisterous groundcover have on my soil?

2. Will smothering sections of it under cardboard or black tarp kill it if I decided to do that? To advantage?

3. Is there any reason why other deeper-rooted plants cannot be planted directly into ground covered with mock strawberry?

4. Is there any benefit to bees and other beneficial insects and wasps of mock strawberry?

I am in zone 8a, and so far the patches of mock strawberry are behaving like an evergreen in the winter, which is a win for me. They are also very nice to walk on, but they do spread quickly. I know Potentilla indica has some value as being edible and medicinal, although I'm sure I won't need a whole yard full of it. My gut is telling me to let nature have its way and let this plant run, but I keep seeing that word "invasive" and it gives me pause.

Advice?

What a divine thread. I'm grateful to have received mention of it in the Daily-ish today!

...

Phil Stevens wrote:One of the most common trees planted all across NZ in the early settler era was the Monterey cypress (Cupressus macrocarpa). Now lots of these old giants are being felled, some because they're dying of canker, but most because dairy farmers don't want them around their cows and heifers, as the green foliage induces miscarriage. So I get lots of macrocarpa shavings, bark, and offcuts, and it's one of the main components of the poultry bedding and mulch around the property. It decomposes in a similar manner to most other softwood, although not as fast as pine.

The thing about most cypresses is that the oils that make them resistant to rot and insects don't stand a chance against the fungi that enter from the soil. Macrocarpa is regarded as a durable timber here as long as it's not in contact with the ground.

This is very helpful information, Phil!

I put cypress mulch in all my pathways, and it's breaking down far faster than I would have hoped. I'd put down cardboard thickly first, then put the mulch over it (that no-float kind), and now there's just rich black with most of the mulch gone. This has taken about a year, year and a half. We live in Georgia, where it's really humid and has been especially wet this year. I hadn't realized cypress mulch was a no-no. All they had the last time I went was "aromatic cedar," which I put in a front bed that I'm not going to be growing much in.