Land Management
Trees
Aerial view of Montpelier before Florence and Michael.
Previous owners leased the far southern fields and the field west of the house. Everything else was untouched. Easy to start an organic and sustainable project!
Hurricane Florence made landfall the week we closed on Montpelier. Roads between Virginia and South Carolina, where we were, remained closed for two weeks. Arrival at the farm at the beginning of October was a mixed blessing. One third of the trees surrounding the main house were either down or split in dangerous hanging sections. An ancient cedar fell next to the house, scraping the west chimney but not causing damage.
Several more ice storms followed in January, bringing down the giant danglers and creating havoc down the driveway. A year later we are still cutting and chipping. Although it seems like a disaster, we knew that extensive arbor work was needed so God helped us by pruning on a very large scale! I hadn't counted on six months of tree service before genuine field work but the wood chips became composted mulch for the reclaimed field just west of the house.
Here I define reclaimed as repurposing the land to sustainable and organic production as opposed to industrial monoculture. The difference rests in soil health as opposed to manufactured fertilizer and natural as opposed to genetically modified seed. Using historical farming methods which concentrated on smaller scale but larger yield per acre measured in both output and reduction in carbon footprint. A return to Montpelier's roots, so to speak.
Luckily, most of the land remained unused and untreated for nearly thirty years except the far southern fields and the west field adjacent to the house. The forty-five acres under cultivation were leased to a nearby commercial farmer. Much of the land remained open pasture which had been maintained but not used. Consequently, a historical property with eighty percent of the land readily accessible for farming but untouched by modern practice of single crop rotation which is heavily dependent on pesticides, commercial fertilizer and genetically modified seed.
The west field became my first project. Genetically modified corn from that fall sat in the field until spring. The stalks did not break down, which is common for genetically altered plants, so I pushed them over with the tractor and pulled them by hand. Nearly two acres. I did not till under and by this fall all stalks had either been used as weed suppressant in buffer areas or composted. Ironically, the trees were the first step in bringing the soil back to a sustainable state. The mulch composted directly into the west field created about a half inch of black compost.
This will be the second season and the soil is reconditioned enough to launch a large planting. Pruning and removing trees remains a priority but the mulch is priceless.
Most valuable tools: DeWalt battery operated chainsaw and Woods Chipper.
Trees
Aerial view of Montpelier before Florence and Michael.
Previous owners leased the far southern fields and the field west of the house. Everything else was untouched. Easy to start an organic and sustainable project!
Hurricane Florence made landfall the week we closed on Montpelier. Roads between Virginia and South Carolina, where we were, remained closed for two weeks. Arrival at the farm at the beginning of October was a mixed blessing. One third of the trees surrounding the main house were either down or split in dangerous hanging sections. An ancient cedar fell next to the house, scraping the west chimney but not causing damage.
Several more ice storms followed in January, bringing down the giant danglers and creating havoc down the driveway. A year later we are still cutting and chipping. Although it seems like a disaster, we knew that extensive arbor work was needed so God helped us by pruning on a very large scale! I hadn't counted on six months of tree service before genuine field work but the wood chips became composted mulch for the reclaimed field just west of the house.
Here I define reclaimed as repurposing the land to sustainable and organic production as opposed to industrial monoculture. The difference rests in soil health as opposed to manufactured fertilizer and natural as opposed to genetically modified seed. Using historical farming methods which concentrated on smaller scale but larger yield per acre measured in both output and reduction in carbon footprint. A return to Montpelier's roots, so to speak.
Luckily, most of the land remained unused and untreated for nearly thirty years except the far southern fields and the west field adjacent to the house. The forty-five acres under cultivation were leased to a nearby commercial farmer. Much of the land remained open pasture which had been maintained but not used. Consequently, a historical property with eighty percent of the land readily accessible for farming but untouched by modern practice of single crop rotation which is heavily dependent on pesticides, commercial fertilizer and genetically modified seed.
The west field became my first project. Genetically modified corn from that fall sat in the field until spring. The stalks did not break down, which is common for genetically altered plants, so I pushed them over with the tractor and pulled them by hand. Nearly two acres. I did not till under and by this fall all stalks had either been used as weed suppressant in buffer areas or composted. Ironically, the trees were the first step in bringing the soil back to a sustainable state. The mulch composted directly into the west field created about a half inch of black compost.
This will be the second season and the soil is reconditioned enough to launch a large planting. Pruning and removing trees remains a priority but the mulch is priceless.
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