Bought land, now what ?

[Ionel]

Thanks for your inputs.

My main problem is that i have very little access to the land. I may visit once a month for a day but maybe twice a year ...
So anything will be done slooooowly.
Construction of any building wil began probably not sooner than 5 years from now due to many reasons.
This land was bought as an investment and also as something to do "for the rest of our family's lives".

So, for now (this year and probably the next), the only thing that i could do is to try to start some soil enriching/N-fixing/deep rooted/soil loosening pioneer vegetation while i do the other observations and planning.
Anong these are white clover, birdfoot's trefoil, dandelion, etc.
If they succeed or not i have learned something anyway.
And i don't/can't inseminate the whole property the first time but some selected patches to see how they behave.

And i would love to recognize the vegetation types but the grasses are a mystery to me and the only shrubs i can recognize are the pink-white wild roses.

So that wrap's it up. Is it useful to start some inseminations on selected patches ? If so what would be the best method, seed balls, direct dissemination, other methods, all of them, just to see what works ?
This is to see what works and to propagate that as species and as method.

[sweetpea]

Ionel, well, that's an amazing experiment. Once a month isn't nearly enough, even to set up a system. But....if you use native vetches and clovers, get seeds from them growing at the side of the road when they turn into seed pods, end of summer, you can throw those out and the local critters will not eat them, you know that the local rainfall will make them work. Try to use as many as possible, let them grow and ramble, and let the seeds fall to the ground and start over again. Collect some and spread them wider and wider. Work on improving your soil with these vetches and clovers.

If you know you have ground water that is near the surface, maybe where wild blackberries are growing, you might consider some really drought tolerant vines, like grapes, and plant them where the berries are, although clear out some berries first. Then mulch them with a minimum of 2 hands depth of mowed weeds, soak them deeply, and that might hold them between your visits.

What kind of water access do you have? Well? spring?

Look out for dandelions, they will compete with your vetches and clovers, and I've never found them to be helpful, and I have a very rural place. Use the natives there, they are your best bet for surviving on their own.

[Finchj]

Lots of great posts so far. Don't have time to read them all, so this is probably rehashing someone else. But that doesn't mean it isn't worth saying again!

1) Observe (h/t to Pak). Get down on the ground and look to see whats sprouting. What is the density, etc. Just look. Writing things down is a great idea, but even if you don't, humanity's innate ability to remember natural patterns and places will always be present. So if you forget to write something down, that doesn't mean you have forgotten it!

2) Research all the time. Listen to podcasts, check out books, buy books, swap for books, cut down some trees (or grow some hemp if its legal) and print your own books.

3) Start out small. Maybe ~1 acre at most. Use the principal of "nuclei that merge" to stitch your microclimates and growing areas together over time. Utilise hardy plants that produce prodigious amounts of seed.

4) Coppice some things for "chop and drop" or maybe even some hugel beds if you have time. There are so many trees that coppice well. Obviously don't chop down everything, but if you want/need some check logs (before digging swales), don't be afraid to harvest some.

5) (And this might not be for everyone)... Let go. Just let go of the thought that you can control everything at once. Execute your plans and trust in your partners: the flora and fauna of your site to do the rest. Akinori Kimura said it well:

The things we can actually do as humans are pretty limited really. Everyone talks about how hard I worked, but it wasn’t me who struggled, it was the apple trees. That’s not me being modest. I honestly think so. However hard an individual tries, they won’t produce a single apple blossom.

Whether it’s on the tips of their fingers, or the tips of their toes, they just can’t do it. This might seem like common sense. Yet those who think they can don’t understand the real significance of this. When I see an orchard submerged in flowers in full bloom, I really appreciate this. It’s not me who made these trees blossom. It’s the apple trees.

Deep down inside I realized that the heroes here are not the people, they’re the apple trees. I thought it was me growing apples. That I’m managing apple trees. All I can do, though, is help the apple trees. I realized this eventually after many failed attempts. And it took an awfully long time for me to realize that.’

-Akinori Kimura's Miracle Apples

Enjoy the journey and don't fall into the paralysis of analysis trap. Research and execute, but don't be afraid to make minor mistakes or kill a plant. It'll happen.

[sweetpea]

Ionel, I forgot maybe one of the most important things....start composting piles. If you can mow the weeds they make great compost. They are also pulling up nutrients, and the green ones still have the nitrogen in them. They also will tell exactly what is going on with your soil and your ground water.

And invest in a really good mower, which might make you swallow hard to pay for, but I bought 3....count 'em....3...medium mowers that did not last that easily equaled the professional mower I ended up with. One with rear-wheel drive and a separate blade control so that the motor can be running, but the blades are not on because they use way less gas than the regular mower, and I don't have to restart it every time the bag fills up, which is about every 20 meters. And now I don't feel quite so exhausted after mowing for several hours. In fact, it's peaceful, it tidies everything up, I have great piles of compost makings and lots of mulch to save water for plants.

[Ludi]

dandelion,

Edible and nutritious "superfood."

http://www.foragingtexas.com/2008/09/dandelion.html

http://www.eattheweeds.com/dandelions-hear-them-roar/

[Ionel]

Thanks again, especially about dandelions.
I collected some seeds because i knew they had deep roots and are great DA.
AS to water access i'l speculate only rainwater for now.
There is groundwater but at what depth, i don't know.
There is no stream or anything anywhere nearby.

And regarding machinery, well, the next investment will be a car. That is to resolve the access problem but that might be a year later.

Oh, and i have some pictures.
From left to right:
view to the left, view to the right and view to the road from halfway up.
IMG_6915.jpgIMG_6918.jpgIMG_6913.jpg

[Ludi]

Here's a podcast with Geoff Lawton that talks about what to do with new land: http://www.thesurvivalpodcast.com/episode-923

[sweetpea]

Ionel, very pretty place! Looks very bucolic. Those are all roses? Not fruit trees? or some kind of fruiting shrub? Looks like you could mow all that grass and mulch whatever you plant/grow easily. I guess there's summer rain to keep things going when you're not there?

Just from my experience, if you are planning to put something to stay overnight in when you visit, hopefully it will be a shed/cabin or trailer? I tried starting out with a tent and the mice and voles and packrats chewed through it with a week or two, got into everything, toilet paper, food, clothing.

Those roses are finding ground water, so it may not be too far down.