Mowing

[Matt In Oklahoma]

On my last trip to Amish country last fall, I saw a guy mowing his lawn. He had a rig that was pulled behind a horse. It was a sickle-bar mower, and the movement of the wheels causes the sickle to operate. It was really interesting. I'm sure Lehman's probably has them. As Matt said, in fire country it's very important to keep the weeds down. As for keeping goats to do it for you, they can be extremely destructive to your fruit trees and other types of trees. The problem with using sheep is the one the cowboys found when the sheepherders moved in; the sheep don't chomp off the grass, they pull it up by the roots, and it doesn't grow back afterwards. At least that's what someone who was in a position to know told me. I don't think I would do that if I had any other livestock, or even if I planned to keep sheep for another year. Anybody know how they dealt with this?

Sheep and Geese pull the grass up. They have to be moved constantly to keep damge to it's lowest level. You need to graze large areas with herds of sheep moving at a steady pace. Wherever they stop there will be bald spots. Thats why wheat farmers hate geese too.

[rice paddy daddy]

We've got horses. They multi-task: mow and fertilize at the same time. ;-)

[errorborne]

The threat of a brush fire or grass fire should be managed. I am not sure how large an area you are talking about, but to protect a few buildings a trench could be employed. If money allows consider a four or five foot wall. If the area is limited you could also use chemicals. Have a sprayer with some water to dilute the chemical on hand.

Actually manicuring a lawn may draw unwanted attention and speculation regarding your resources. To maintain fields of fire, build a highly reinforced silo with that can serve as a lookout tower. How tall is the native grass in your area? What kind of terrain do you have around your perimeter? If you could obscure your house with some berms and let the grass grow high you would decrease the chance that strangers would wander in your direction. at the same time the berms could provide cover and concealment to monitor approaches to your place.

[becky3086]

Since I likely won't have feed, mine will likely be picked to feed to the ducks and chickens. We don't have a whole lot of grass anyway and I think we will be a bit to busy to worry about how long the grass is.

[Matt In Oklahoma]

this is pre shtf, before anyone gets "stupid" and deliberatly tries to burn someone out

"Three people died Thursday and well over 100 homes were destroyed by the fires — at least one of them suspected arson"

Small Towns Destroyed by Oklahoma, Texas Wildfires, Residents Left Homeless

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,514456,00.html

We have lost an area greater in size than some states now, it' to dry this year. It's so bad that some of the fires have been started by people trying to clear brush and grass to save their places and when they were mowing the brushog/mower clipped a rock or a hidden piece of metal and sparks and sets the fire.

I have a hand cutter and added a container of long term 3 month kill roundup concentrate mix to the preps. Since I don't own the place the livestock is out of the question for me, however the landlord owns 2 horses that I could maybe "extend" their graze if needed, assuming they don't get eaten. The solar mower is neat but I dont think practical post shtf. I could add another can of fuel but it would only be enough to get through one summer. I think I might get one of those reel mowers in the near future, it's a good workout for an aging now domesticated guy anyway. sigh, i miss the Army

Anyway, great ideas and thanks for the input. it seems it is a much larger problem depending on where you live but I have never lived anywhere that in a 3 month time underbrush, grass, tumbleweeds or something didn't overtake the place if not kept in check. I have watched wildfires in the everglades to kalifonia. They all have one thing in common -FUEL

[JUSTIFIED]

I started a thread on Zero Landscaping and Matt directed me to this thread where you guys have been dicussing various options. I think it comes down to what size and kind of property you have, how much money you can spend, do you have the tools and means to maintain them and are you able to care for animals? I have another suggestion. This is what I posted on the other thread:


Zero Landscaping

I don't know if this has been talked about but if, and when, the shtf most will not have fuel for mowing and weedeating their lawns. Once we sell our home and get settled into a new place, working toward zero landscaping will be something we will start immediately. There are many perrenial plants you can use that will take over your grass over time and, once mature, will require no maintenance. These plants will eventually block any traditional grasses and weeds from coming up.

Here are some that I've used and enjoyed:
-Buffalo Grass. Loves the sun and is drought tolerant. It's been genetically modified over the years, now comes in various colors and only grows to about 6" tall.
-Mexican Feather Grass. Will do ok in shade but loves the sun and is drought tolerant. It's an ornamental grass that grows to about 18" tall and is a beatiful golden/green color. It spreads like wildfire once it's in the ground. I've seen cheap seed packets on Amazon(I think they're around $5.00 per 1,000).
-Vinca Vine. Once established requires little water and is perfect for planting under trees where other grasses will not do well. It won't venture out much past the shade of the trees.
-Monkey Grass. It's often used as a border plant but spreads at a moderate pace and is fairly drought tolerant once established. It does well in sun but best in shade. This is one you can divide anually and sprig to promote spreading quicker.

If you're looking for ground cover for your flower and/or vegetable gardens, seedum is a great cover(best I've found so far)that spreads fairly fast and keeps most of the grass and weeds from coming up once it's mature, but it won't block perrenials from coming back every year.

There are other plants but this gives you an idea of something you might consider so your yards aren't overun by grass and out of control weeds when there is no way to maintain them. Even now, zero landscaping is a nice thing to think about. Less mowing and weedeating and more time for prepping!....including gardening.