Marian Road,
Acton, MA
Site #1
A resident of Acton donated a 17’ by 20’ area of his garden to my experiment. I was warned by multiple experts that unless I turned the soil several times and allowed both cool season and warm season weeds to germinate, I would end up with a weedy mess. I was impatient. On November 30, 2023, I rented a sod cutter and removed the turf. In February, 2024, I seeded the plot. Spring 2024, I have a weedy mess. On May 25th, I will be cutting the sod again.
Marian Road: November 2023 to May 2024
I cut the sod off in November, 2023 and seeded it in February, 2024. Only weeds emerged. Summer 2024, I’m starting over again.
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School Street,
Acton, MA
Site #2
A developer bought a property down the street that has been derelict for the eight years I’ve lived on River Street. With the pressure to renovate four units and get them occupied in less than six months, he accepted my offer to help him with the hillside by giving me the entire hillside. This was more land than I had planned to take on, and I had done no training in how to manage erosion, but he had clear-cut the entire area in March 2024 and was letting me do anything I wanted. Since it had previously been covered in mugwort, I didn’t think I could ruin it. The battle against mugwort is ongoing. Stay tuned.
March 2024 to May 2024
Seeded with oats in early spring 2024; hand weeding and smothering with cardboard and straw.
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