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, although it’s also true that few of the 1000s of seeds I laid down germinated. Throughout the summer, I cleared weeds an allowed the few native plants that germinated (2) or blew in from surrounding weeds (Rudbeckia hirta and Achillea millefolium) to grow. On November 18, 2024 I reseeded.
Marian Road: November 2023 to Spring 2025
I cut the sod off in November, 2023 and seeded it in February, 2024. Throughout summer 2024, I cleared weeds and allowed 2 verbena and many Rudbeckia hirta to flourish. I planted a Asclepias purpurascens, which promptly got eaten. I reseeded Nov. 18th, 2024.
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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 Spring 2025
Seeded with oats in early spring 2024 and then again in late summer; hand weeded and smothered with cardboard and straw. Seeded a few areas with Chamaecrista fasciculata, Schizachyrium scoparium, and Bouteloua curtipendula in late spring, and seeded entire area in November 24, 2024.
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