Ground Zero - the first plot

Learning along the way, the first plot was transformed over a 6 year period - and continues to develop.

**This page under construction**

Year 5 of the transformation

This property is a typical quarter acre plot. The house was built new in Fall of 2019, so the first planting season was Spring of 2020. Being a new lot, there was no top soil - just sod placed onto hard clay soil. It’s a difficult start to building healthy biodiverse soil. It’s also not a great start for anything planted in the ground.

Most of the planting occurred over the first two years. Improvements and additions were added each year.

By the end of the second and third summer, things were taking shape. Trees usually take at least 2 years to recover from being transplanted, and grow their root system back. I had enough trees and bushes that they would start to growing and spreading roots through parts of the yard.

By about the 4th year, the spreading trees and shrubs that were planted began to spread. Prairie Gold Aspens, Tiger Eye Sumacs, and a variety of fern all spread their root systems and pop up new trees/shrubs over time. This is something we wanted, so our planted areas would spread without cost or effort.

Spreading ferns and Aspen Trees, with Tiger Eye Sumacs coming into the picture on the right.

In some of the areas well covered by the spreading plants, we let nature take over to see what happens. Nature knows best, and brings in the life needed by that area. We have various plants we never planted, but love. This includes Elderberry plants and catnip. Some we haven’t identified yet.

Often what you get growing in your landscaped areas or lawn are weeds. It’s important you rethink what weeds are. Weeds are just unwanted plants. You may just need a new perspective for those to become wanted plants. For example, clover and dandelions are considered weeds by most. What you don’t know is these are probably there because your lawn needs them.

Dandelions root deep. When they die off later in the year, the roots turn to compost and the eventual empty root paths allow deeper transfer of organic material, water, and air. This is excellent for clay or compacted soil. The break up of the hard ground also makes it easier for earth worms to take up residence in your yard.

Clover is excellent for your soil. While grass only consumes nitrogen, clover takes atmospheric nitrogen and puts it into your soil. It gives your land something it needs, all without having to buy it or pay for it to be dispersed!