Green Grass is Growing

One of my projects has been trying to get grass to grow in areas we've cleared out. Until now, my attempts have been mostly unsuccessful.

I attribute this to a couple of factors including, poor soil, no irrigation and not being willing to put in the time necessary to fix the previous two.

The following picture shows what an untreated area looks like.  This was previously so thick with cedar and undergrowth that it was difficult to even walk through.  The trees like to muck up the soil so other things won't grow there and compete.  As you can see, the trees did a good job and there is very little green.

From 2012-03-16

After putting down the straw (that was formerly in the barn), we were very happy to see green stuff sprouting all throughout.   This is all without any prep work such as tilling, seed or fertilizer.  It's just dumping and spreading the straw.  It will interesting to see how it does through the spring and summer and whether it can establish itself in the soil without straw.

From 2012-03-16

I'm not sure what the official name the trees in the picture below are, but we call them Bodocks.  There are only a few of them scattered around the place, mostly close to the old house.  Since they don't show up anywhere else, I assume they were planted.   For what purpose?  I've yet to figure it out.

They are a very interesting tree due to their odd yellow wood (which quickly dulls up my chainsaw) and the large green fruit they drop.  They're about the size of a softball and very odd looking. 

The two bodocks were almost choked out by the cedars until I started clearing.  In fact, they seem to be mostly dead.  I'm looking forward to seeing how they do now that they don't have so much competition.  
 

From 2012-03-16

We're still trying to figure out what to do with all the cut stone from the old fireplace.  It seems like a lot of work to move it.  We might just end up leaving it there, unless something really motivating comes along.  Motivating enough to move many hundred pounds of stone by hand.

From 2012-03-16

The end of a hard days work.  Sawyer and I put down 330 feet of fence as well as moving several gate sections.  Definitely ready for a rest.

From 2012-03-16

Sawyer still looked pretty spry at the end of the day.  He probably could have done another roll of fence.

From 2012-03-16