Lawn to Woodland
Ongoing project converting a low, damp part of my own suburban lawn to a 'woodland' area using tough native plants and few to no inputs or amendments. Our flock of chickens were employed, degraded the existing turf over two growing seasons. Next we sited three river birches (Betula nigra), underplanting them with native groundcovers, ferns, and sedges, directly into the existing soil. These 'mother colonies' are managed for undesireable species until plants reach a weed suppressant density, and then expanded. The rest of the area is covered with cardboard and a thick layer of fall leaves, suppressing undesirable growth and building organic matter in what is a compacted former lawn with clay soil. The first plants were established in the fall of 2023, so the project is in it's second full growing season (in 2025), with some expansion areas in their first season.
