Ben TylerMaybe you’re familiar with the red paintbrush wildflower (castilleja indivisa) but take a look at her pink perennial cousin (Castilleja purpurea). There is, in fact, a range of colors. Paintbrushes gain some of their food supply from grasses and are included in the snapdragon family. The seeds are tiny at four million per pound so you only need a quarter pound per acre for planting. Save the wildlife and make spaces for nature.
I had planned to move to Florida a few years ago, but instead I get to see Texas become Florida this year, at least in comparable rainfall. It’s a little more difficult now, to remember that bad drought just a few short years ago. No worries, we’ll be baked by the sun again in the not too distant future. I’m sure we’ll hear endless complaints, prayers and rain-dances at that point, wishing we had some H20. It would certainly behoove a Texas landowner (and improve the bottom line) to consider learning about watershed management practices to maintain balance in your … Read more
I’m writing this to you at the stroke of midnight on April Fool’s 2015. Don’t be a fool and take out your beneficial forbs and so-called “weeds” thinking a monoculture pasture is ideal. Many such plants are desirable as vermifuges, micronutrient resources, palatable food sources, window species and/or pollinator resources. Here’s a quick list of goodies in the spring lush: Plantain Wild onion Medic/vetch/clover Sedge Artemesia Asparagus Chickweed Cleavers Dandelion Chicory Greenbriar There are plenty more where those came from. I’m available for site visits and consultations if you’re interested in working with nature and maximizing productivity. May all your … Read more
When this blanket of snow at the end of February melts gently into the landscape the steady crescendo into the symphony of spring will paint an idyllic image of green abundance. If only the real world were that simple. Simple may be adequate and elegant but it misses the opportunities found in nuance, diversity and productivity. What I’m hinting at is that since we live in a place where drastic change in weather is the norm, maximize the potential for positive productivity while improving the ecosystem and landscape with proper processes. A healthy and resilient grazing landscape has a diversity … Read more
When this blanket of snow at the end of February melts gently into the landscape the steady crescendo into the symphony of spring will paint an idyllic image of green abundance. If only the real world were that simple. Simple may be adequate and elegant but it misses the opportunities found in nuance, diversity and productivity. What I’m hinting at is that since we live in a place where drastic change in weather is the norm, maximize the potential for positive productivity while improving the ecosystem and landscape with proper processes. A healthy and resilient grazing landscape has a diversity … Read more
Spend less to get more. The more you know, the less you need. Employing the principles of ecology allows us to construct permanently productive and resilient ecosystems that beget increasing abundance over time without applying heavy inputs of expensive and deleterious agri-business products. Capital and energy intensive does not equal success!
As a certified plant geek, all I can say is ‘wow!’ every time I see one (seriously). The marvels of regenerative solar collectors providing food, fiber, medicine, inspiration, clean air and water, habitat, recreation and so much more can be an endless preoccupation. There is an active conversation around ‘invasion biology’ these days, that is, what does ‘native’ or ‘restoration’ truly mean and are introduced species ‘invasive’. Bloodletting aside, common sense should be our guide. The conservation minded will argue that pre-Columbian flora/fauna is pristine and spend untold funds to herbicide the exotics. An opposite extreme is to say there … Read more
‘No field was ever plowed by turning it over in your mind’…and yet that is what I would recommend as a land management goal. You see, tillage is a destructive practice that oxidizes away your organic matter. Why care? Without it you have a lifeless mineral matrix whose sole purpose is to prop up crops with an endless need for capital and labor intensive inputs of water, fertilizer and biocides. For my money, I’m going to do all I can to amplify the positive effects of a living soil food web. That means mimicking a natural ecosystem which includes cycling … Read more
Earth is the water planet. Sometimes we lose sight of that out here on the dry plains. The average ranching mindset considers a stock tank or pond simply as a drinking station for livestock. For me, it can be so much more. I’m a fan of the beaver. This little ecological engineering keystone species works tirelessly to construct habitat for itself that directly benefits everyone else in the ecosystem. Before they were trapped and slaughtered en masse, 90 million or so of these guys dammed waterways and spread water out over the landscape where lush vegetation and … Read more
One person’s weed is another person’s wildflower. Some may consider weeds as a vile curse, others may see them as simply a nuisance. How do you see a weed? Typically a weed is best defined as any plant growing in the wrong place which obviously makes for a broad subject to discuss. We try to grow crops, livestock or landscapes for our purposes and these unwanted visitors pop up and free-load from us. Maybe they have something to say. Weeds are typically categorized as perennials or annuals. The annuals have an amazing ability to pop up in massive numbers under … Read more