tomatoes
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Post by tomatoes on Aug 4, 2022 14:08:08 GMT 10
We have a sloped area of land - maybe 1/3 acre - with scattered gums. The soil has recently been dug over so to prevent it all washing away the obvious thing to do is plant grass seed.
Is there an alternative?
I’d love to fill the space with fruit trees and mulch but with the gums, the fruit trees won’t be happy. And we need ground cover.
Any ideas?
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Post by Stealth on Aug 4, 2022 14:47:58 GMT 10
Hmmm... Have you considered growing some bush tucker local to your area? Obviously not knowing where you live I can't make too many recommendations, but your local council might have some contacts to the closest mob to you and they might be able to give you some ideas on what would grow happily around gums.
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rastus
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Post by rastus on Aug 4, 2022 15:20:13 GMT 10
Prob better ways, but I use a green manure seed mix on disturbed areas I am not ready to work on right away. It is big mix of legumes and tends to grow a bit crazy (weeds don't get a chance) and I just chop and drop with a brushcutter at regular intervals.
If left to seed, different things will keep coming back though. That can be good and bad (a lot of it is edible but it can spread).
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frostbite
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Post by frostbite on Aug 4, 2022 16:18:21 GMT 10
Swales?
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tomatoes
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Post by tomatoes on Aug 4, 2022 21:26:12 GMT 10
I asked if we could do that, but as it is we were doing what the council told us we had to do and we couldn’t vary from that without further permission. Swales would have been much more sensible regarding water run off for Neighbours as well as our own benefits, but it wasn’t allowed. It’s a long,expensive and frustrating story.
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Beno
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Post by Beno on Aug 4, 2022 23:55:36 GMT 10
weed mat and gravel. coir mesh hydromulch mulch concrete. relocatable dwelling. terraced gardens.
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tomatoes
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Post by tomatoes on Aug 5, 2022 12:49:44 GMT 10
Has anyone used the “good bug mix” that green harvest sells? Wondering if it ends up just looking like weeds within a year or if it would look quite nice.
This is a very visible part of our block and I don’t want neighbours complaining about weed seeds. I also would like it to look nice.
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tactile
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Post by tactile on Aug 5, 2022 16:55:14 GMT 10
Blackberries should do the job.
How about some wattles? They grow OK with gums I think?
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Post by spinifex on Aug 5, 2022 20:30:36 GMT 10
Roughly where are you located? And what angle do you estimate the slope to be?
Rainfall intensity and time of year rainfall occurs is a factor in what options can work. Especially species selection for grasses and groundcover.
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tomatoes
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Post by tomatoes on Aug 6, 2022 8:50:19 GMT 10
Hmmm... Have you considered growing some bush tucker local to your area? Obviously not knowing where you live I can't make too many recommendations, but your local council might have some contacts to the closest mob to you and they might be able to give you some ideas on what would grow happily around gums. We will plant Aus native fruit trees in this area. But that will take longer and we need to get it covered in something with the next couple of weeks.
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tomatoes
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Post by tomatoes on Aug 6, 2022 8:56:16 GMT 10
Roughly where are you located? And what angle do you estimate the slope to be? Rainfall intensity and time of year rainfall occurs is a factor in what options can work. Especially species selection for grasses and groundcover. The slope is about 20-30 degrees. I’m nearish to Sydney. The area we need to cover is about 1500sq metres.
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Post by spinifex on Aug 13, 2022 20:21:11 GMT 10
heck. thats steep.
and your area gets some intense rain.
Some sort of creeping grass sounds like the go for stabilisation over that size area.
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tomatoes
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Post by tomatoes on Aug 14, 2022 23:39:02 GMT 10
Thanks
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Post by spinifex on Aug 15, 2022 18:49:24 GMT 10
Maybe worth going to a rural supplies place and getting a bag of perennial rye grass or phalaris - in the wetter parts of my state they are used for making perennial pasture that can handle a fair bit of grazing. Both can later be controlled with an application of glyphosate if needed.
If you want to try and grow something productive you might try Asparagus peas. They are a vigorous creeper that produce edible pods.
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tomatoes
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Post by tomatoes on Aug 16, 2022 12:00:40 GMT 10
Asparagus peas look interesting. I might get some of those.
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