On Kabi Kabi Land.
"However, I continue to try and I continue, indefatigably, to reach out. There’s no way I can single-handedly save the world or, perhaps, even make a perceptible difference - but how ashamed I would be to let a day pass without making one more effort." - Isaac Asimov
| Pronouns | He/him |
Cutting last year's growth from Eucalyptus cloeziana (Gympie Messmate) pollards. This was an experiment to grow what is usually very large trees into a small area for pole/post (and biomass) production. Could also be a technique for growing Eucalypts in urban yards if one was so inclined.
The thicker prunings are used for fuel/biochar production with the leaf and twigs used for mulch below these stems.
#*Acacia fimbriata *twig #biochar being "charged" in biochar #worm castings before use. Resting together for some months is better practice than using raw. Out to the garden and as an additive in a nursery potting mix is the plan.
Previous glimpses:
https://elk.aus.social/aus.social/@treevan/110324596499778557
https://elk.aus.social/aus.social/@treevan/110284722924931438
https://elk.aus.social/aus.social/@treevan/110280660015918438
Attached: 4 images From mown grass paddock, to planted rows, to raging torrent of water and a loss of plants, to a beginning of a canopy after 1.5 years. *Commersonia bartramia* feature as the main pioneer in this riparian revegetation site which will be used as managed shade and biomass for the mixed species planting they protect underneath them. Eventually some of the species will be thinned leaving the best performers at a spacing that suits the final goal of complete canopy cover and wild understory which is common of subtropical vegetation in this location. As the site matures, shade-loving species will be added as I can propagate them. Plus more Lomandra, you can never have enough. *You can never, repeat never, plant lomandras too thickly!" - 'Save Our Waterways Now' Planting Guide* *"Lomandra spp. Matrushes, critically important stabilisers, impossible to overplant" - 'The Creek in our backyard' by Robert Whyte* #bushregeneration #Revegetation #reforestation #landcare #sunshinecoast #subtropics #rewilding #queensland #gardeningau
2 years and 2 months; the #BushRegen / #rewilding in a local riparian zone is moving along nicely. Using a hybrid #Syntropic / #miyawaki style in rows (barely visible now), with #pollard, lifting (pruning), biomass cycling of natives/weeds, and eventually thinning to select better performers to increase growth rates. 60m long, 40m wide, just over 3000 plants mostly all grown from seed (some seedlings dug up and potted).
An update to earlier shots after another prune in Spring. After a long dry period, a single rain has come and growth has accelerated.
Want to grow #eucalyptus in your yard but they are too darn big?
Try #pollard, an ancient practice of cutting the "poll" at a pre-determined height and using or cycling the material for mulch. Every cut is always made on new wood so it's a sound #arboriculture practice, it can maintain #trees to specific heights that are reset on a cycle plus they don't get out of control. Bonus is, they also live longer based on a pollard history of thousands of years.
Pictured here are Eucalyptus cloeziana, Gympie Messmate, pollards with #vetiver grass underneath as a mulching plant. The Vetiver existed first, the #eucalypts were planted in after the Vetiver Grass suppressed the pasture grass.
These poles will be grown and harvested as 2.1m posts eventually while some Kei Apples and Citrus establish underneath.
As soon as these reached a medium size, insects like sawfly and stick insects moved in which were never present before as the area is too small to grow full size Gum trees.
If you are interested in a history of #coppice and/or pollard, there are some books available, one example: https://www.williambryantlogan.com/sprout-lands
Also works with Lomandra hystrix and L.longifolia.
And if you want to close the loop further, #bamboo pots.
Using bamboo #biochar scraped from the floor of a duck pen to grow on #vetiver grass slips for planting.
A successful trial. The biochar is a hardwearing floor, keeps duck smells down, the ducks eat it and spread it around garden, the char can be used a potting medium after extended ground contact, the char is made on-site from local bamboo waste.
