tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22759191.post8439602304766867946..comments2014-04-27T09:36:59.797+09:00Comments on Matsuyama eco-home: Clover updateRodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04229724488178529402noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22759191.post-66253433617887982002007-08-21T08:32:00.000+09:002007-08-21T08:32:00.000+09:00The beds have given me no end of trouble since the...The beds have given me no end of trouble since the growing season started. They're invaded by grass and taken over within about 5 days. One type of grass puts out arms like an octopus which then root themselves, choking out the veg. So next year I'm going to put boards around the beds (we still have lots of timber left over from the house). This will make it easier to determine which parts must be weeded <I>without fail</I>. Hopefully it should make encroachment from the pathways more difficult too.<BR/><BR/>I'm beginning to think that the secret to a successful weed 'lawn' must be herbivores of some sort. I'm not ready to be husbanding animals yet, but a reading of <I>The Encyclopedia of Country Living</I> suggests that rabbits or geese might be suitable. Animals weed and fertilize at the same time...Rodhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04229724488178529402noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22759191.post-50521667707673860972007-08-19T23:37:00.000+09:002007-08-19T23:37:00.000+09:00RodThanks for writing up your experiences with you...Rod<BR/><BR/>Thanks for writing up your experiences with your garden in general and the clover. The beds you've made look great and you've got them going in no time.<BR/><BR/>I'm sure we'll have the same problems with compaction, so it's good to know what you can do to get things established.<BR/><BR/>The permaculture people are more scathing about domestic lawns than industrial agriculture even. However, this may reflect the artificiality of pushing them and the big lawns that are golf courses onto unsuitable territory like Australia and California where many permaculturalists live. Grass seems to grow by itself back home, but that's the British climate for you.stewhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05130573340791854462noreply@blogger.com